s 

/^ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT  OF 

Y.  M.  O.  A.  OF  U.  Or 

Accession       1.01774          Class 


THE 


HISTORY,    OBJECT, 


PROPER  OBSERVANCE 


HOLY  SEASON  OF  LENT: 


BY    THE 

RT.  REV.  WM.  INGRAHAM   KIP,  D.  D. 

BISHOP    OF    CALIFORNIA, 
AUTHOR  OF  "THE  DOUBLE  WITNESS  OF  TUB  CHPRCII;"   "THB  EARLY  CONFLICTS    of 

CHRISTIANITY  ;  "    ETC.,  ETC. 


"  The  world  is  waxing  strong, 

The  day  is  hot,  the  flight  is  long, 
And  therefore  do  I  fast." 

REV.  F.  W.  FABKE. 


E  CHURCH,  AND    FOR  THE  CHURCH." 

D.  MAKT.  LUTHKRI,  Golluq.  Mens.   cb. : 


EU&entfc    fSHttton. 

NEW  YOEK: 
POTT, YOUNG   &   CO.,    COOPER    UNION, 

1875. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869, 

BY   DELISSER   &   PROCTER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  SooU.crn 
District  of  New  York. 


'JOHN  F.  TROW  &  SON, 

PRINTERS  AND  BOOKBINDERS,  x 

205-213  East  izt/t  St., 

NEW    YORK. 


INSCRIBED 

TO 
THE     EIGHT     EEVEEEND 

WILLIAM  HEATIICOTE  DELANCEY,  D.  D.  LL.  DM 

BISHOP   OF   WESTEEN  NEW  YOEK, 

AS    A    SLIGHT   TESTIMONY    OF    EESPECT    AN"O 

AFFECTIONATE    EEGAED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


101774 


O  every  where  we  find  our  suffering  GOD, 

And  where  he  trod 
May  set  our  steps :  the  Cross  on  Calvary 

Uplifted  high 
Beams  on  the  martyr  host ;  a  beacon  light 

In  open  fight. 

To  the  still  wrestlings  of  the  lonely  heart 

He  doth  impart 
The  virtue  of  his  midnight  agony, 

When  none  was  nigh, 
Savt  GOD  and  one  good  angel,  to  assuage 

The  tempest's  rage. 

Mortal !  if  life  smiles  on  thee,  and  thou  find 

All  to  thy  mind, 
Think,  who  did  once  from  Heaven  to  Hell  descend 

Thee  to  befriend: 
So  shalt  thou  dare  forego,  at  His  dear  call, 

Thy  best,  thine  all. 

KEBL& 


THE  LENTEN  FAST. 


PREFACE. 


FOR  some  years  past  each  return  of  Lent  has 
been,  we  believe,  regarded  with  additional  inter- 
est. Many  who  were  not  trained  n?  within 
the  pale  of  the  Church,  are  looking  to  her  fold 
as  a  refuge  more  fixed  and  stable  than  any  they 
can  find  elsewhere.  They  of  course  eagerly  in- 
quire into  the  History,  Object,  and  Proper  Ob- 
servance of  the  Holy  Seasons  which  are  set  forth 
in  her  Calendar.  Among  those,  too,  who  have 
been  educated  to  attend  her  services,  there  seems 
to  be  a  growing  appreciation  of  their  beauty,  and 
a  wish  to  know  more  of  their  origin.  They  ap- 
pear to  be  turning  away  from  the  empty,  boast- 
ful professions  of  this  age  of  novelties,  and  to  be 


viii  PREFACE. 

more  iucliued  to  adopt  as  a  settled  principle,  that 
golden  decision  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  E^  ap^a»a 

xparsirw,    LET   ANCIENT    USAGES    PEEVAIL. 

In  this  state  of  things,  the  writer  has  frequent- 
ly sought — but  without  success — for  something, 
which  in  a  small  compass  might  contain  the  ne- 
cessary information  with  respect  to  the  Lenten 
Fast.  He  could  only  find,  a  few  pages  by  one 
author — a  sermon  by  another — or  perhaps  some 
brief  tracts,  which,  although  excellent  in  them- 
selves, did  not  attempt  to  discuss  the  whole  sub- 
ject. Having  waited  therefore  for  several  years 
in  vain,  in  the  hope  that  the  desired  work  would 
be  furnished  by  some  one  better  able  to  do  it  jus- 
tice, he  has  at  length  ventured  himself  to  under- 
take the  task. 

After  the  following  pages  were  prepared  for  the 
Press,  there  was  accidentally  brought  to  his  no- 
tice, a  treatise  by  Dr.  Gunning  (afterwards  Bishop 
of  Chichester),  entitled,  "  the  Paschal  or  Lenten 


PREFACE.  be 

Fast,"  which  fills  a  quarto  volume  of  between 
five  and  six  hundred  pages,  published  about  the 
year  1670.  Its  size,  however,  together  with  the 
style  in  which  it  is  written,  would  render  it  at " 
the  present  day  useless  to  any  but  the  theologian 
or  the  scholar.  The  author  has  also  confined  his 
attention  principally  to  one  single  point,  owing 
to  the  circumstances  under  which  he  wrote.  The 
work  was  prepared  after  the  Restoration,  when  in 
consequence  of  the  rule  of  the  Puritans  for  so 
many  years  in  England,  the  observance  of  Lent 
had  been  almost  entirely  discontinued.  '  The  ob- 
ject of  Dr.  Gunning  is,  therefore,  to  revive  in  the 
minds  of  men  a  reverence  for  this  ancient  season 
by  proving  its  Apostolical  authority  ;  and  the 
argument  he  presents  is  rendered  most  conclusive 
by  extracts  from  every  prominent  writer  who 
treats  of  the  subject  during  the  first  seven  centu- 
ries of  the  Church.  It  is  evident  however  that 
this  truth,  if  sustained  by  quotations  from  the 


X  PREFACE. 

first  three  centuries,  is  as  well  established  as  if 
the  testimony  of  the  remaining  four  was  added. 
The  present  writer  found  therefore,  that  even  if 
he  had  met  with  this  treatise  at  an  earlier  period, 
from  its  being  thus  narrowed  down  to  a  single 
topic,  it  would  have  afforded  him  but  little  assist- 
ance. He  mentions  it  however  in  this  place,  as 
it  is  the  only  work  with  which  he  is  acquainted 
devoted  to  this  subject,  and  because  he  was  hap- 
py to  find  in  its  numerous  quotations,  a  full  con- 
firmation of  the  statement  he  had  made  with 
regard  to  the  origin  of  the  Lenten  Fast. 

It  would  of  course  have  been  easy,  after  once 
commencing  the  investigation,  to  have  entered 
more  deeply  into  the  subject  and  expanded  this 
volume  to  twice  its  present  size  by  multiplying 
quotations  from  the  early  writers.  In  refraining 
from  doing  so,  and  in  turning  aside  from  many 
tempting  paths  of  historical  inquiry  which  opened 
before  him,  the  writer  (although  acting  contrary 


PREFACE.  XI 

to  the  opinion  of  some  of  his  friends),  .has  been 
influenced  by  the  consideration,  that  to  have 
yielded,  would  entirely  have  changed  the  char- 
acter of  the  work.  It  is  intended,  not  for  the 
clergy  (for  they  must  be  professionally  familiar 
with  all  it  contains),  but  for  those  among  the 
laity  whose  daily  avocations  prevent  them  from 
searching  the  early  records  of  the  Church  and 
to  whom  information  conveyed  in  this  form  is 
sometimes  acceptable  and  useful.  The  object 
has  therefore  been,  to  quote  from  the  ancient 
Fathers,  merely  enough  to  sustain  and  illustrate 
the  different  points  brought  forward. 

It  was  for  a  similar  reason  that  advantage  was 
taken  of  the  subject  of  Easter  Even,  to  introduce 
a  discussion  of  the  intermediate  state.  Those 
arguments  we  already  have,  able  as  they  are, 
seem  rather  too  controversial  and  theological  in 
their  character  to  be  adapted  to  general  readers. 
An  attempt  has  therefore  been  made,  to  present 


PREFACE. 


tliis  important  subject  in  a  more  simple  and 
popular  form.  Perhaps  exception  may  be  taken 
by  some,  to  the  adoption  of  Bishop  Horsley's 
rendering  of  1  Peter,  iii.  19,  20.  If  so,  the  writer 
can  only  say,  that  some  years  ago  he  himself 
thought  differently,  but  after  frequently  studying 
this  difficult  point  with  all  the  help  he  could  de- 
rive from  the  learned  labor  of  others,  he  was 
finally  obliged  to  settle  down  upon  this  interpre- 
tation, as  giving  the  most  natural  explanation  of 
the  passage.  It  is  the  one  adopted  by  Dr. 
Bloomfield  and  other  eminent  Biblical  critics  of 
the  day.  If,  however,  this  passage  should  be 
entirely  withdrawn  from  the  argument  the  loss 
would  not  materially  weaken  it.  There  is,  even 
without  it,  abundant  Scripture  evidence  to  prove 
the  doctrine. 

In  conclusion  then  the  writer  would  say,  that 
it  is  with  unfeigned  diffidence  he  commits  this 
little  volume  to  the  Press.  Occupied  with  the 


PREFACE.  xiii 

engrossing  cares  of  a  parish,  he  has  been  obliged 
to  prepare  these  pages  almost  entirely  after  the 
regular  duties  of  the  day  were  over,  at  night, 
and  in  times  redeemed  from  sleep.  Yet  while 
engaged  in  the  work,  he  has  felt  that  such  silent 
hours,  when  the  noise  and  din  of  the  busy  city 
around  had  subsided  into  quietness,  seemed  an 
appropriate  season  in  which  to  turn  over  those 
writings,  bequeathed  to  us  by  the  ages  of  a  dim 
antiquity,  and  which  we  may  well  style — in 
Milton's  eloquent  language  —  "  the  precious  life- 
blood  of  so  many  master  spirits,  embalmed  and 
treasured  up  on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond  life." 
Their  words,  coming  down  through  the  mist  and 
haziness  of  fifteen  centuries,  appeared  to  be  gifted 
with  a  more  touching  emphasis  when  read  in 
that  still  and  solemn  time,  while  the  outward 
world,  wrapped  in  slumber,  gave  no  token  of 
existence.  To  him  therefore  this  labor  has  al- 
ready brought  its  own  reward.  It  has  deepened 


xiy  PREFACE. 

his  love  and  reverence  for  the  Church  at  whose 
altars  he  is  permitted  to  minister,  and  whose 
services  he  has  here  endeavored  to  illustrate.  It 
has  taught  him  to  realize  more  fully  than  ever 
before,  the  beauty  of  her  ancient  ritual,  in  which 
the  solemnities  of  religion  are  performed  —  to 
use  the  words  of  Edmund  Burke — "with  modest 
splendor,  with  unassuming  state,  with  mild  ma- 
jesty, and  sober  pomp." 

If  then  the  perusal  of  this  little  work  should 
strengthen  these  feelings  in  the  mind  of  any  mem- 
ber of  our  Holy  Apostolic  Church,  or-  awaken 
within  one  single  soul  which  in  uncertainty  is 
"  sounding  on  its  dim  and  perilous  way,"  the 
wish  to  turn  to  her  as  an  Ark  of  safety,  the 
writer  will  be  most  richly  recompensed  for  all 
that  he  has  done.  If  it  can  not  thus  aid  the 
cause  of  truth  and  holiness,  let  it  be  like  "  the 
arrow  shot  into  the  air,  which  strikes  no  mark, 
creates  no  noise,  leaves  no  track  behind  it,  and 


PREFACE.  XV 

is  discovered  after  a  little  space,  lying  idly  on  the 
ground."  But  he  hopes  that  this  humble  effort 
will  not  prove  entirely  in  vain,  and  sends  it  forth 
therefore  with  the  earnest  prayer,  that  in  some 
way  it  may  be  permitted  to  advance  the  glory  of 
that  Lord,  whose  blessed  Passion  the  Church 
would  solemnly  commemorate  on  earth,  while  in 
Heaven  a  remembrance  of  its  benefits  will 
through  all  eternity  furnish  the  theme  for  her 
noblest,  loftiest  anthem. 

ASH  WEDNESDAY,  MDCCCXLIH. 


CONTENTS. 


FAO* 

THE   OBJECT  OF    THE   PRIMITIVE    CHURCH    IN    INSTI- 
TUTING  THE   HOLY   SEASON   OF   LENT 21 

THE   PROPER   OBSERVANCE   OF  LENT G5 

THE  WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS 105 

GOOD    FRIDAY 141 

EASTER   EVEN...  .171 


O  LORD,  WHO  FOB  OUR  SAKE  DIDST  FAST  FORTY 
DAYS  AND  FORTY  NIGHTS  J  GIVE  US  GRACE  TO 
USE  SUCH  ABSTINENCE,  THAT  OUE  FLESH  BEING 
SUBDUED  TO  THE  SPIRIT,  WE  MAY  EVER  OBEY 
THY  GODLY  MOTIONS  IN  RIGHTEOUSNESS  AND 
TRUE  HOLINESS,  TO  THY  HONOR  AND  GLORY, 
WHO  LIVEST  AND  REIGNEST  WITH  THE  FATHER 
AND  THE  HOLY  Gl 
OUT  END.  AMEN. 

COLLECT    FOR   TIIE    FIRST   SUNDAY    IN    LENT 


THE  OBJECT  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  CHURCH  IN  INSTI 
TUTING  THE  HOLY  SEASON  OF  LENT. 


Welcome,  dear  feast  of  Lent !  who  loves  not  thee, 
He  loves  not  temperance,  or  authority, 

But  is  composed  of  passion. 

The  Scriptures  bid  us  fast;  the  Church  says  now; 
Give  to  thy  mother,  what  thou  wouldst  allow 

To  every  corporation. 

"  The  Church,"  by  HERISERT. 


OBJECT  OF  THE  PEIMITIYE  CHURCH  IN- 
INSTITUTING  THE  HOLY  SEASON 
OF  LENT. 


At  length  the  changing  months  have  brought 
us  to  another  division  of  our  ecclesiastical  year. 
We  have  again  entered  on  that  solemn  season, 
in  which  the  Church  commands  her  children  to 
"  turn  unto  the  Lord  with  all  their  hearts,  and 
with  fasting,  and  with  weeping,  and  with  mourn- 
ing,"1 — "  worthily  lamenting  their  sins,  and 
acknowledging  their  wretchedness,  that  they 
may  obtain  of  Him  who  is  the  God  of  all  mercy, 
perfect  remission  and  forgiveness,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  their  Lord."2  Her  services  now  give  ut- 
terance to  the  language  of  sorrow  and  abase- 

1  Passage  appointed  for  the  Epistle  for  Ash-  Wednes- 
day. 

2  Collect  for  Ash- Wednesday. 


22  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

ment,  as  we  prepare  for  the  solemn  commemora- 
tion of  our  Lord's  agony  and  death.  It  is  inter- 
esting therefore  to  look  back  to  the  records  of 
he  early  Church  in  her  holiest  day,  that  as  we 
see  the  origin  of  this  season,  and  the  object  for 
whicli  it  was  appointed,  we  may  be  enabled  to 
decide,  whether  we  are  so  observing  it,  that  it 

7  O  7 

shall  answer  for  us  its  high  and  important  pur- 
poses. 

The  fast  of  Lent  (a  Saxon  word,  signifying 
the  Spring)  is  of  forty  days  continuance,  during 
the  six  weeks  which  precede  Easter.  As  how- 
ever the  Sundays  are  Festivals,  and  must  there- 
fore be  excepted,  only  thirty-six  days  are  left. 
To  make  up  this  deficiency,  four  days  are  added 
at  the  beginning,  commencing  with  Ash- Wed- 
nesday,8 which  derives  its  name  from  the  ashes 
which  in  the  ancient  Church  were  at  this  time 
thrown  upon  the  penitents,  whose  sins  had  de- 
barred them  from  a  participation  in  her  services. 
"  On  the  first  day  of  Lent,"  says  Gratian,  in  de- 
scribing this  ceremony,  "  the  penitents  were  to 

8  It  is  uncertain  by  whom  this  addition  was  made. 
Most  writers,  however,  ascribe  it  to  Gregory  the  Givut. 
(See  BINGHAM'S  Orig.  Ecdes.,  lib.  xxi.,  ch.  1,  section  5). 


OBJECT   OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  23 

present  themselves  before  the  Bishop,  clothed 
with  sackcloth,  with  naked  feet,  and  eyes  turned 
to  the  ground ;  and  this  was  to  be  done  in  the 
presence  of  the  principal  of  the  Clergy  of  the 
Diocese,  who  were  to  judge  of  the  sincerity  of 
their  repentance.  These  introduced  them  into 
the  Church,  where  the  Bishop,  all  in  tears,  and 
the  rest  of  the  Clergy,  repeated  the  seven  peni- 
tential psalms.  Then,  rising  from  prayers,  they 
threw  ashes  upon  them,  and  covered  their  heads 
with  sackcloth ;  and  then  with  mournful  sighs 
declared  to  them,  that  as  Adam  was  thrown  out 
of  Paradise,  'so  they  must  be  thrown  out  of  the 
Church.  Then  the  Bishop  commanded  the  offi- 
cers to  turn  them  from  the  Church  doors."4 
Severe  indeed  this  discipline  may  seem ;  yet  in 
an  age  when  the  minds  of  men  were  reached  only 
by  striking  appeals  to  the  outward  senses,  we 
can  not  tell  how  much  these  ceremonies  may 
have  availed  to  keep  alive  the  purity  of  the 
Church,  and  to  impress  upon  the  careless  multi- 
tude, the  value  of  admission  to  her  services. 
An  allusion  to  this  ancient  form  is  stil]  pra- 

4  WHKATLY  on  Common  Prayer,  p.  233. 


24  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

served  in  the  "  COMMINATION,  or  denouncing  of 
GOD'S  anger  and  judgment  against  sinners," 
which  in  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England 
is  commanded  "  to  be  used  on  the  first  day  of 
Lent."  After  Litany  the  Priest  is  directed  to 
say: 

"  Brethren,  in  the  Primitive  Church  there  was 
a  godly  discipline,  that,  at  the  beginning  of  Lent, 
such  persons  as  stood  convicted  of  notorious  sin 
were  put  to  open  penance,  and  punished  in  this 
world,  that  their  souls  might  be  saved  in  the  day 
of  the  LORD  ;  and  that  others  admonished  by 
their  example,  might  be  the  more  afraid  to 
offend. 

"  Instead  whereof  (until  the  said  discipline  may 
be  restored  again,  which  is  much  to  be  wished), 
it  is  thought  good,  that  at  this  time  (in  the  pres- 
ence of  you  all)  should  be  read  the  general 
sentences  of  GOD'S  cursing  against  impenitent 
sinners,  gathered  out  of  the  seven  and  twentieth 
chapter  of  Deuteronomy  and  other  places  of 
Scripture;  and  that  ye  shall  answer  to  every 
sentence,  Amen  •  To  the  intent  that,  being  ad 
monished  of  the  great  indignation  of  GOD  against 
sinners,  ye  may  the  rather  be  moved  to  earnest 


OBJECT   OF   ITS   INSTITUTION".  25 

and  true  repentance  ;  and  may  walk  more  wari- 
ly in  these  dangerous  days  ;  fleeing  from  such 
vices,  for  which  ye  affirm  with  your  own  mouths, 
the  curse  of  God  to  be  due." 

Then  follow  the  anathemas,  to  which  the  peo- 
ple respond.  This  form  has  been  omitted  in  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  in  America,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  three  concluding  prayers,  which 
on  Ash-  Wednesday  are  directed  "to  be  said  im- 
mediately before  the  General  Thanksgiving." 

All  record  of  the  precise  time  in  which  this 
season  first  originated,  is  lost  in  the  dim  obscu- 
rity of  the  early  ages  of  the  Church.  "We  may 
therefore  speak  of  its  services,  in  the  words  with 
which  the  ancient  tragic  poet  represents  Anti- 
gone as  defending  those  sacred  precepts  of  her 
faith,  which  had  come  down  upon  the  traditions 
of  a  remote  antiquity  : 


Ou  2/ap  <n  vuv  ye  Ka^6sg  aXX'  aei 
^7)  rauTa  xovSsis  oidsv  s%  o-rou  ©avij." 

The  Lenten  fast  is  however  frequently  referred 

5  Not  now,  nor  yesterday,  but  always  thus 
These  have  endured,  their  ancient  source  unknown. 

SOPH.  Antif/one^  462. 
2 


26  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

to  by  writers  of  primitive  days  as  an  established 
and  well  known  custom,  which  had  been  sanc- 
tioned by  Apostolical  authority.  The  probability 
is,  that  even  from  the  first — from  the  time  in 
which  "  the  Bridegroom  was  taken  away  " — His 
followers  thus  in  sorrow  kept  the  anniversary 
of  His  Passion,  although  the  duration  of  this  sea- 
son, and  the  rules  by  which  its  observance  was 
regulated,  may  not  have  been  definitely  settled 
until  the  age  immediately  succeeding  that  of  the 
Apostles.  •  Philo,  who  was  cotemporary  with  the 
early  disciples,  and  is  even  said  "  to  have  had 
familiar  conversation  with  Peter  at  Rome,  whilst 
he  was  proclaiming  the  Gospel  to  the  inhabitants 
uf  that  city,"6  refers  to  this  season  in  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  Christians  at  Alexandria,  who  were 
converted  by  St.  Mark.  "  This  author " — says 
Eusebius,  in  his  history  composed  about  A.  D. 
324 — "has  accurately  described  and  stated  in 
his  writings,  the  exercises  performed  by  them," 
(i.  e.  the  Christians  of  Alexandria  in  the  days  of 
St.  Mark),  "  which  are  still  in  vogue  among  us 
at  the  present  day,  and  especially  at  the  festival 
of  our  Saviours  passion,  which  we  are  accu-s- 
6  EUSEBIUS'  Ecdes.  Hist.,  liber  ii.,  chap.  17,  p.  6G. 


OBJECT   OF   ITS  INSTITUTION.  27 

*omed  to  pass  in  fasti  tig  and  watching,  and  in 
the  study  of  the  divine  word.  These  are  the 
same  customs  that  are  observed  by  us  alone  at 
the  present  day,  particularly  the  vigils  of  the 
Great  Festival™  meaning  by  this  the  Passion 
Week,  called  by  the  Greek  Fathers  the  Great 
Week. 

It  is  also  mentioned  incidentally  by  Irenaeus, 
who  lived  but  ninety  years  after  the  death  of  St. 
John,  and  was  trained  up  under  the  martyr 
Polycarp,  who  had  himself  been  a  disciple  of 
that  last  surviving  Apostle.  When  alluding  to 
a  difference  of  opinion  with  regard  to  the  time 
in  which  it  should  be  kept,  he  shows  that  the 
custom  itself  was  ancient,  even  in  his  day.  His 
words  are  :  "  This  diversity  existing  among  those 
that  observe  it,  is  not  a  matter  that  has  just 
sprung  up  in  our  time,  but  long  ago,  among 
those  before  us."8 

Tertullian  too,  who  lived  within  one  hundred 
years  of  the  Apostle  St.  John's  departure,  has 
unwittingly  as  it  were,  recorded  his  testimony  to 
the  general  belief  of  the  Church  in  the  Apostol- 

7  EUSEBIUS'  Ecdes.  Hist.,  lib.  ii.,  chap  17,  p.  C8. 

8  Ibid,  lib.  v.,  chap.  24,  p.  210. 


28  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

ical  Authority  of  tliis  season.  Having  erred 
from  the  faith,  and  embraced  the  heresy  of  the 
Montanists,  he  found  the  voice  of  the  Church 
against  him,  when  he  endeavored  to  introduce 
the  new  fasts  which  Montauus  had  commanded. 
Thus  therefore  he  argues  against  her  authority, 
in  defence  of  his  party.  "  They "  (i.  e.  the  Ca- 
tholic Christians)  "  accuse  us  that  we  observe 
fasts  of  our  own,  peculiar  to  ourselves.  They 
object  therefore  unto  us  novelty,  and  prescribe 
against  the  unlawfulness  of  that,  saying,  it  is 
either  to  be  judged  Heresy,  if  presuming  as  men, 
we  so  dogmatize,  or  we  are  to  be  pronounced 
false  prophets,  if  we  inculcate  these  fast*,  as  from 
the  Spirit ;  whilst  on  either  hand  we  hear  them 
denounce  an  anathema  against  us.  For  as  to 
what  pertains  to  fast,  they  argue,  that  there  are 
certain  days  constituted  l>y  God.  The])  surJij 
think,  that  in  the  Gospel  those  dui/s  are  deter- 
mined for  fasts,  in  wliicli  the  Bridegroom  was 
taken  away,  and  that  those  days  only  are  now 
the  legitimate  days  of  Christian  fasts,  all  legal 
and  prophetical  old  observances  being  antiquated 
or  abolished.  Therefore  as  to  other  fasting,  it  is 
to  be  indifferent,  according  to  every  man's  occa- 


OBJECT  OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  29 

sions  and  causes,  at  his  own  judgment,  not  of 
command."  (That  is,  as  Montanns  inculcated 
the  necessity  of  the  fast,  by  pretended  command 
from  God.)  "And  that  tlius  tlie  Apostles  ob- 
served the  rule  of  fasting,  imposing  no  other  yoke 
of  certain  or  set  fasts  to  be  kept  of  all  in  com- 
mon. And  ye  prescribe  against  us,  that  tlie 
solemn  times  for  tlvis  matter,  are  to  ~be  Relieved 
already  constituted  in  tlie  Scriptures,  or  in  the 
tradition  of  our  Elders,  and  that  no  further  ob- 
servance is  to  be  superadded,  for  the  unlawful- 
ness of  innovation."9 

The  first  Christian  Emperor,  Constantine,  im- 
mediately after  the  meeting  of  the  earliest  general 
council  of  the  Church — that  held  at  Nice,  A.  D. 
325 — and  which  was  composed,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "  of  all  the  Bishops,  or  the  greater  part 
of  them  at  least,  assembled  together,"  wrote  a 
letter  to  all  the  Churches,  on  the  necessity  of 
observing  Easter  upon  the  same  day.  His  argu- 
ment is,  that  unless  this  uniformity  exists,  some 
will  be  rejoicing  in  that  Festival,  while  others 
are  still  mourning  in  the  fasts  which  precede  it. 

9  TEKTULLIAN  JDe  Jipjuniis,  chap.  1,  2,  13. 


30  THE   LENTEX  FAST. 

"  It  is  fit  therefore  " — he  says — "  that  we  should 
perpetuate  to  all  future  ages  the  celebration  of 
this  rite,  which  we  have  kept  from  the  first  day  of 
our  Lord's  passion  even  to  the  present  times.  . 

For  the  Saviour  has  bequeathed  to 

us  one  festal  clay  of  our  liberation,  that  is,  the 
day  of  His  most  holy  passion ;  and  it  was  His 
pleasure  that  His  Church  should  be  one ;  the 
members  of  which,  although  dispersed  in  many 
and  various  places,  are  yet  nourished  by  the 
same  Spirit,  that  is,  by  the  will  of  God.  Let 
the  sagacity  of  your  holiness  only  consider  how 
painful  and  indecorous  it  must  be,  for  some  to  be 
experiencing  the  rigors  of  abstinence,  and  others 
to  be  unbending  their  minds  in  convivial  enjoy- 
ments on  the  same  day ;  and  after  Easter,  for 
some  to  be  indulging  in  feasting  and  relaxation 
while  others  are  occupied  in  the  observance  of  the 
pi  Described  fasts™ 

To  give  a  single  reference  more  —  and  they- 
might  be  multipied  to  a  great  extent — this  sea- 
son is  mentioned  in  the  Apostolic  Canons,  a  code 
of  laws  which  certainly  dates  its  authority  from 

10EusEB.  De  Vit.  Constantin.lib.iii.)  c.  17,  18.     SOCRA- 
TES, lib.  i..  chapter  6.     THEODORET,  lib.  i.,  ch.  10. 


OBJECT   OP   ITS  INSTITUTION.  31 

a  very  early  age.  "  If" — says  the  61st  Canon — 
"  any  Bishop,  Priest,  Deacon,  Eeader,  or  Singer, 
do  not  keep  the  holy  fast  of  Lent,  forty  days  be- 
fore Easter,  or  the  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  let 
him  be  deposed,  if  he  be  not  hindered  by  some 
bodily  infirmity ;  but  if  he  be  a  layman,  let  him 
be  suspended  from  communion."11 

Thus,  we  perceive,  that  this  custom  took  not 
its  rise  amidst  the  corruptions  of  the  Dark  Ages, 
but  began  in  times  of  light  and  holiness.  We 

11  Patres  Apos.  COTEL.  vol.  1,  p.  451,  edit.  1724.  These 
Canons  have  usually  passed  by  the  name  of  St.  Clement. 
Bellarmin,  Baronius,  and  others,  assert  them  to  be  the 
genuine  Canons  of  the  Apostles.  Cotelerius  however  ob- 
serves, that  the  internal  evidence  is  against  this  view  of 
their  antiquity  (Jud.  de  Canon  Apos.,  vol.  1,  p.  429). 
Hincmar,  De  Marca,  and  Beveridge  give,  what  is  the  most 
probable  account,  that  they  were  framed  by  the  Bishops 
who  were  the  disciples  of  the  Apostles,  in  the  end  of  the 
2d  and  beginning  of  the  3d  centuries.  See  BEVEKIDGE  Jud. 
de  Can.  Apos.  in  COTEL.  vol.  1,  p.  436.  See  also,  LAED- 
NER'S  Works,  vol.  4,  p.  354.  JOETIN'S  Rem.  on  Ecdes.  Hist., 
vol.  1,  p.  278;  CAVE'S  Hist.  Lit.,  vol.  1,  p.  29.  Even 
Mosheim  acknowledges  that  "  they  exhibit  the  principles 
of  discipline  received  in  the  Greek  and  Oriental  Churches, 
in  the  2d  and  3d  centuries."  (Eccles.  Hist.,  vol.  1,  p.  90, 
224).  We  give  these  authorities  merely  to  show,  that  in 
the  lowest  view  taken  of  these  Canons,  they  are  good  evi- 
dence of  the  practice  of  the  Church  at  a  very  early  age. 


32  THE  LENTEN   FAST. 

received  it  not  from  the  Romish  Church,  when  it 
had  fallen  from  ancient  purity,  but  it  comes 
clown  to  us  from  Primitive  days.  It  was  sanc- 
tioned by  Apostolical  authority,  or  certainly  at 
least  by  those  who  lived  before  the  example  and 
instruction  of  Apostles  had  been  in  any  respect 
forgotten.  The  early  Christians,  as  we  have  al- 
ready seen  stated  by  Tertullian,  considered  our 
Divine  Master  as  referring  to  the  observance  of 
some  such  season,  when  he  said:  "Can  the  chil- 
dren of  the  bride-chamber  mourn,  as  long  as  the 
bridegroom  is  with  them?  but  the  days  will 
come,  when  the  bridegroom  shall  be  taken  from 
them,  and  then  shall  they  fast."  At  first,  the  time 
of  its  observance  varied  in  different  Churches 
and  among  different  individuals,  although  all 
agreed  in  the  necessity  of  thus  commemorating, 
in  some  way,  their  Lord's  sufferings  and  death. 
At  length,  however,  its  duration  was  fixed  at 
forty  days,  which  has  since,  through  all  the  inter- 
vening centuries,  continued  to  be  the  uniform 
custom  of  the  Church.12  The  number  forty  seems 

12  The  question  as  to  the  length  of  Lent,  at  its  first  in- 
stitution, is  one  which  has  causal  uiiu-li  discussion  a 
learned  men.     The  Greeks  called  this  season 


OBJECT   OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  33 

very  anciently  to  have  been  appropriated  to  sea- 
sons of  repentance  and  fasting.  uThis  quadra- 
gesimal number" — says  St.  Ambrose,  in  his  36th 
sermon — "  is  not  constituted  of  men,  but  consecra- 
ted from  God."  For  this  term  of  years  were 
the  children  of  Israel  disciplined  in  the  wilder- 
ness, to  prepare  them  for  the  promised  land. 
For  forty  days  did  Moses  fast  on  the  Mount — • 
Elijah  in  the  "Wilderness  —  and  the  Ninevites, 
when  they  would  avert  the  judgments  prophesied 
by  Jonah.  It  was  this  length  of  time  that  our 
Lord  himself  was  pleased  to  fast,  during  His 
temptation  in  the  desert,  and  from  his  example 
was  this  period  probably  fixed,  "  that, "  —  as 
St.  Augustine  says  —  "  we  might,  as  far  as  we  are 
able,  conform  to  Christ's  practice,  and  suffer 

and  the  Latins  Quadragesima,  both  of  which  words  denote 
forty.  But  the  inquiry  has  been,  whether  this  applied  to 
days  or  hours?  By  some,  it  was  argued,  that  it  always 
had  been  forty  days.  By  others,  that  it  at  first  extended 
only  through  forty  hours,  which  were  of  entire  abstinence, 
beginning  about  12  on  Friday,  (the  time  of  our  Saviour's 
falling  under  the  power  of  death),  and  continuing  until 
Sunday  morning,  the  time  of  His  resurrection,  and  that 
afterwards  it  was  extended  by  the  Church  to  the  same 
number  of  days.  The  reader  will  find  this  subject  discus* 
sed  in  BINGHAM'S  Orig.  Eccles.,  lib.  xxi.,  chap.  ] 


34  THE   LENTEN    FAST. 

with  Him  here,  that  we  may  reign  with  Him 
hereafter." 

And  we  may  learn  too  from  a  single  passage 
in  St.  Basil's  Second  Homily  on  Fasting,  how 
universal  throughout  the  world  was  the  attention 
of  the  early  Christians  to  this  solemn  portion  of 
the  Ecclesiastical  year.  "  In  this  time  of  Lent, 
there  is  no  island  nor  continent  of  the  earth,  no 
city,  nor  nation,  no  extreme  corner  of  the  world, 
where  the  Edict  of  this  Fast  of  Lent  was  not 
heard.  Yea,  whatsoever  armies,  merchants,  trav- 
elers, or  mariners  are  abroad,  this  fast  comes 
unto  them  all,  and  with  joy  they  all  receive  it. 
This  composes  every  house,  every  city,  and 
every  people,  in  sobriety  and  quiet  and  concord. 
This  stills  the  late  clamors,  contentions,  and 
noises  of  the  town.  Let  no  one,  therefore, 
exempt  himself  from  the  number  of  the  fasters, 
in  which  every  degree,  nation  and  age  almost 
of  men,  and  all  of  all  dignities  whatsoever  are 
engaged." 

How  safe  then  are  we,  in  yielding  our  ready 
obedience  to  this  regulation  of  the  Church ! 
How  much  better,  to  tread  iu  the  footsteps  of 
martyrs  and  confessors  of  former  times,  than  to 


OBJECT   OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  ,35 

set  at  naught  all  the  customs  which  they  found 
conducive  to  their  spiritual  benefit,  and  to  deter- 
mine —  despising  the  wisdom  of  the  past,  and 
the  recorded  experience  of  eighteen  centuries  — 
to  "  walk  every  one  in  the  ways  of  his  own 
heart !  "  It  becomes  therefore  an  inquiry  of  in- 
terest to  us,  gleaning  from  those  ancient  writers 
whose  works  have  survived  the  ravages  of  bar- 
barism and  the  waste  of  time,  to  investigate  the 
reasons  which  induced  the  Church  in  Primitive 
days  to  institute  this  Holy  Season,  and  then 
through  all  succeeding  ages,  to  insist  so  strongly 
upon  its  observance. 

The  first  reason  was — 'THAT  HAVING  THE  SUB- 
JECT OF  THEIR  LORD'S  SUFFERINGS  THUS  BROUGHT 
MORE  VIVIDLY  BEFORE  THEM,  THEY  MIGHT  BE 
INDUCED  TO  MOURN  HIS  LOSS  WITH  GREATER 
EARNESTNESS. 

There  is  a  tendency  in  the  human  mind  to 
disregard  a  duty,  to  the  performance  of  which 
no  specific  time  is  allotted.  Thus,  if  the  whole 
year  were  given  us,  during  wrhich  we  were  com- 
manded at  some  period  to  meditate  seriously  on 
our  Lord's  death,  we  should  probably  either 
neglect  the  obligation  entirely,  or,  at  least,  fulfill 


36  THE  LENTEN   FAST. 

it  "but  imperfectly.  It  is  for  tliis  reason  that  the 
early  Church  set  apart  definite  times,  for  con- 
sidering in  order  each  of  the  grand  doctrines 
of  the  Christian  faith,  as  the  Ecclesiastical  year 
rolls  round.  And  in  this  practice  we  now  con- 
tinue. 

"  Yes,  if  the  intensities  of  hope  and  fear 

Attract  us  still,  and  passionate  exercise 

Of  lofty  thoughts,  the  way  before  us  lies 

Distinct  with  signs  —  through  which  in  fixed  career, 

As  through  a  zodiac,  moves  the  ritual  year 

Of  England's  Church  —  stupendous  mysteries ! 

Which,  whoso  travels  in  her  bosom,  eyes 

As  he  approaches  them,  with  solemn  cheer."  u 

Beautiful  indeed  is  that  arrangement  of  her 
services,  which,  as  the  months  go  by,  brings  in 
succession  before  her  Children,  each  scene  in 
their  Lord's  eventful  life,  and  each  cardinal  truth 
which  he  taught !  We  celebrate  with  joy  and 
gratitude  the  Festival  of  His  Nativity,  and  after- 
wards follow  Him  on,  step  by  step,  through  all 
the  glories  and  the  trials  of  His  earthly  pilgrim- 
age, until  amid  the  solemnities  of  Passion  Week 
we  mourn  His  agonies  and  death.  Then  come 

14  WORDSWORTH'S  Eccles.  Stnnets,  XV. 


OBJECT   OF   ITS  INSTITUTION  37 

in  meet  succession,  the  other  Festivals  —  that  of 
Easter,  when  He  triumphed  over  the  grave  —  of 
the  Ascension,  when  He  returned  to  "  the  glory 
which  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world 
was"  — and  of  Whitsunday,  when  His  promise 
was  fulfilled,  that  the  Comforter  should  be  given, 
and  His  Apostles,  by  the  visible  descent  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  were  prepared  to  be  "  lights  to 
lighten  the  world."  Thus  it  is,  that  in  a  far 
higher  and  nobler  sense  than  the  Poet  ever 
dreamed  in  his  loftiest  imaginings — 

"  The  rolling  year  is  full  of  Him." 

Acting  then  on  this  principle,  and  endeavoring 
to  render  the  views  of  her  members  clear  and 
distinct,  how  naturally  did  it  happen,  that  one  of 
the  first  seasons  of  solemn  remembrance  insti- 
tuted by  the  Primitive  Church,  was  that  which 
commemorated  her  Lord's  sufferings  and  death, 
while  her  children  were  summoned  in  an  especial 
manner  to  lament  those  sins  which  brought  Him 
to  the  Cross !  " 15  "  The  days  had  come,  when  the 

15  "  It  seemed  good  to  the  Church  to  fix  a  stated  time, 
in  which  men  might  .enter  on  the  great  work  of  their  re- 
pentance. And  what  time  could  have  been  selected  with 


38  THE   LENTEX  FAST. 

Bridegroom  was  taken  from  them,  and  therefore 
did  they  fast."  The  memory  of  His  love  and 
kindness  was  still  freshly  imprinted  on  their 
hearts.  The  history  of  all  that  He  endured, 
came  not  to  them,  as  it  too  often  does  to  us,  like 
"  a  thrice-told  tale,"  to  which  we  have  listened  so 
often  that  it  has  lost  its  interest.  The  glad  news 
of  the  Gospel  bursting  upon  them  in  an  age  of 
moral  degradation  and  darkness,  had  not  yet 
ceased  to  thrill  their  hearts  with  joy.  They  had 
either  "  known  Christ  after  the  flesh,"  when  in 
person  he  mingled  with  his  fellow  men,  or  at 
least  those  Apostles  who  sat  at  his  sacred  feet, 
forming  His  little  household  as  He  wandered 
through  Judea;  and  with  eager  ears  they  list- 
ened to  the  recital  from  their  lips,  of  all  that  they 

greater  propriety  than  this  '  Lenten '  or  Spring  Season, 
when  universal  Nature,  awakening  from  her  wintry  sleep, 
and  coming  out  of  a,  state  of  deformity,  and  a  course  of 
penance,  imposed  for  the  transgression  of  man,  her  Lord 
and  Master,  is  about  to  rise  from  the  dead ;  and,  putting 
on  her  garments  of  glory  and  beauty,  to  give  us  a  kind 
of  prelude  to  the  renovation  of  all  things?  So  that  the 
whole  creation  most  harmoniously  accompanieth  the  voice 
of  the  Church,  as  that  sweetly  aceordcth  to  the  call  of  the 
Apostle,  '  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light.'" — Bishop  HOKNE 


OBJECT   OF   ITS  INSTITUTION.  39 

had  heard  and  witnessed.  Probably  too,  the 
tradition  of  many  a  deed  which  is  now  lost  for- 
ever, came  down  to  them,  and  contributed  to 
heighten  their  estimation  of  that  Perfect  Char- 
acter, from  whom  they  were  separated  by  but 
a  short  interval  of  time.16  How  well  then  could 
they  meditate  upon  His  bitter  agonies  endured 
for  them !  How  forcibly  did  they  feel  themselves 
called,  once  at  least  in  each  year,  in  an  especial 
manner  to  chasten  their  souls  by  prayer  and  fast- 
ing, that  they  might  thus  be  compelled  to  realize 
the  nature  of  His  earthly  existence,  who  was 
truly  "a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief!" 

But  if  this  was  necessary  for  them,  how  much 
more  so  is  it  for  us !  Educated  from  the  earliest 
dawn  of  reason,  to  hear  the  story  pf  redeeming 
love,  and  the  fearful  manner  in  which  our  salva- 
tion was  wrought  out,  these  themes  become  to 
us,  as  we  before  remarked,  subjects  too  well 

16  It  is  strange  that  the  only  one  of  these  traditionary 
sayings  of  our  Lord,  which  was  afterwards  recorded  by 
an  inspired  writer,  is  intended  to  inculcate  a  truth,  the 
most  difficult  for  human  nature  to  learn.  St.  Paul  says — 
"  Remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said : 
It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." — Acts  xx.  35. 


40  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

known  to  excite  attention.  It  is  indispensable, 
therefore,  that  the  mind  should  be  directed  and 
fixed  upon  them.  And  how  admirably  is  this 
done  by  the  appointed  service  of  the  Church ! 
Week  after  week,  we  are  led  in  her  prayers  and 
lessons  to  contemplate  these  solemn  mysteries, 
until  when  Passion  Week  arrives,  the  recital  is 
each  day  repeated.  We  witness  the  bitter  ago- 
ny of  the  Son  of  God,  in  the  garden  of  Gethse- 
mane.  We  stand  by  the  patient  sufferer's  side, 
when  arraigned  in  the  hall  of  Pilate.  We  fol- 
low Him  to  Calvary,  as  he  painfully  toils  along 
amidst  the  scoffs  and  jeers  of  an  infuriated  mob. 
We  gather  around  the  Cross,  and  hear  that  last 
expiring  cry,  which  shrouded  the  heavens  in 
darkness,  and  startled  even  the  sleeping  dead  in 
their  tombs.  Hard,  indeed,  must  be  that  heart — 
yes,  utterly  "past  feeling" — which,  amid  scenes 
like  these,  is  not  awakened  to  gratitude  and  de- 
votion. He  can  be  no  true  follower  of  the  Lord, 
whose  spirit  does  not  "  burn  within  him "  as  he 
thus  contemplates  the  mighty  price  at  which  his 
redemption  was  purchased,  or  whose  resolution 
is  not  strengthened,  to  live  for  that  Master  who 
died  a  death  of  shame  for  him. 


PTH 


OBJECT   OF   ITS  INSTITUTION.  41 

Another  reason  with  the  Primitive  Church  for 
the  institution  of  this  season  was,  TO  AID  HER 

MEMBERS  IN  PRESERVING   THE   HIGH   STANDARD  OE 
CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER  IN  ITS  EARLY  PURITY. 

For  a  time,  the  followers  of  our  Lord  were 
subjected  to  the  most  painful  persecutions.  The 
lonely  valleys  of  Judea  furnished  no  place  of 
security  to  the  Hebrew  Christians,  for  even 
thither  penetrated  their  bigoted  enemies,  ready, 
"if  they  found  any  of  that  way,  whether  they 
were  men  or  women,  to  bring  them  bound  to 
Jerusalem."  And  when  the  faith  left  its  earliest 
dwelling-place  in  "  Holy  Asia,"11  and  went  forth 

17  AESCHYLUS'  Prom.  Vinct.  415,  ayvagAtfias.  This  is 
the  happy  epithet  used  by  the  first,  and  may  we  not  say, 
the  loftiest  of  the  Greek  tragic  poets  ?  On  this  single 
point  there  is  agreement  between  the  Christian  of  every 
age,  and  the  believer  in  that  antique  and  poetical  mythol- 
ogy which  furnishes  its  inspiration  to  the  muse  of  Homer, 
and  both  called  into  being,  and  imparted  its  dark  coloring 
to  the  solemn  and  intellectual  drama  of  the  Athenian 
stage.  Both  alike  look  back  with  reverence  to  that  re- 
gion which  was  the  birth-place  of  our  race,  the  scene  of 
its  first  revelations,  and  where  "  the  Lord  talked  with  man 
face  to  face."  Even  to  this  day,  there  is  a  tradition  among 
the  Arabs,  that  to  the  earliest  places  of  human  worship, 
there  clings  a  guardian  sanctity  —  that  there  the  wild  bird 
alights  not  and  the  wild  beast  may  not  wander  —  but  the 
ijye  of  God  rests  on  them  as  hallowed  spots. 


42  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

to  otner  lands,  it  found  a  world  arrayed  in  hos- 
tility against  it.  The  ancient,  sensual  Paganism, 
and  the  proud  systems  of  a  scoffing  philosophy, 
united  at  once  to  crush  that  holy  creed,  which 
disclaimed  all  fellowship  with  them.  The  endur- 
ance of  its  adherents  was  tried  by  every  expe- 
dient of  cruelty  their  enemies  could  devise. 
Some  died  in  agony  at  the  stake.  Some  ascend- 
ed to  their  reward  from  the  burning  flames,  while 
"  their  ashes  flew,  no  marble  tells  us  whither." 
Some  "  butchered  to  make  a  Roman  holiday," 
poured  out  their  blood  on  the  sands  of  the  amphi- 
theatre, welcoming  even  the  wild  beasts,  whose 
fury  released  them  from  their  sufferings.  And 
the  survivors  felt,  that  they  also  were  each  hour 
in  jeopardy  of  life,  and  might  at  any  time  be 
called  in  like  manner  to  seal  their  profession. 
Yet  these  things  only  added  a  depth  and  fervor 
to  their  devotion.  Like  their  Divine  Master, 
they  u  were  made  perfect  by  sufferings."  The 
timid  and  wavering,  either  refrained  from  uniting 
witli  them,  or  else  soon  apostatized  from  their 
profession.  The  true-hearted  were  therefore  left 
alone,  reduced  indeed  in  numbers,  yet  "  stead- 
fast, unmovable,"  and  holding  themselves  ready, 


OBJECT   OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  43 

if  needs  be,  to  win  their  crown  by  suffering  the 
pains  of  martyrdom. 


"  Every  hour, 


They  stood  prepared  to  die,  a  people  doomed 

To  death;  old  men,  and  youth,  and  simple  maids." 

The  world  looked  coldly  on  them,  even  when 
it  did  not  openly  persecute,  and  had  therefore 
nothing  in  it  to  enlist  their  affections.  Life  with 
them  was  one  long  Lenten  period  of  abstinence 
and  prayer,  while  they  were  continually  chasten- 
ing their  spirits,  to  make  ready  for  that  parting 
hour,  which  might  suddenly  overtake  them. 

But  when  security  came,  and  the  world  began 
to  smile  upon  them,  then  was  the  time  of  peril. 
The  faith  which  had  been  strengthening  in  the 
storm  of  persecution,  drooped  and  withered  in 
the  sunshine  of  Imperial  favor.  The  multitude 
insensibly  declined  from  their  Apostolic  devotion, 
and  thought  too  much  of  the  cares  and  riches 
of  a  world  they  had  vowed  to  renounce.  Their 
affections  began  to  cling  to  it,  forgetting  that  here 
they  were  only  strangers  and  pilgrims  "  having 
no  continuing  city."  It  was  at  this  time  proba- 
bly that  this  fast,  commenced  in  an  earlier  age, 


44  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

was  more  accurately  defined  and  inculcate/1  by 
the  regulations  of  the  Church,  that  her  IIK-HIT  ,ers 
might  be  recalled  from  their  secular  cares  tt;  Loly 
works,  and  thus  by  the  necessity  of  a  law,  com- 
pelled to  dedicate  one  tenth  of  the  year,  in  a 
peculiar  manner  to  their  God.18  Therefore  It  is, 
that  an  ancient  writer  declares  —  "  Whilst  men 
are  distracted  about  the  cares  of  this  life,  their 
religious  hearts  must  needs  be  defiled  with  the 
dust  of  this  world;  and  therefore  it  is  provided 
by  the  great  benefit  of  this  Divine  institution, 
that  the  purity  of  our  minds  might  be  repaired 
by  the  exercise  of  these  forty  days,  in  which  we 
may  redeem  the  failings  of  other  times,  and  do 
good  works,  and  exercise  ourselves  in  religious 
festing."19 

But  has  this  necessity  in  our  day  ceased  ?  Is 
there  now  so  great  a  deadness  in  the  world,  that 
we  need  not  such  a  season,  to  recall  us  to  our 
duty  ?  Is  not  the  very  reverse  true,  and  the  dan- 
ger now  tenfold  greater  than  it  was  in  that  early 
day?  Since  all  around  us  have  made  a  nominal 

18  Cassian,  in  BIXGIIAM   Oriy.  Et-des.  lib.   xxi.   cli.    1, 
sec.  10. 

19  Leo,  Serm.  iv.,  de  Quadra  </esi)iui,  in  BINGIIAM,  lib.  xxi. 


OBJECT  OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  45 

profession  of  "Christianity,  the  Church  has  been 
too  much  mingled  with  the  world.  The  barrier 
between  them  has  been  somewhat  broken  down, 
and  there  is  comparatively  but  little  of  the  out- 
ward Cross  to  be  borne.  But  the  effect  of  this 
is,  to  authenticate  low  views  of  Christian  duty — 
to  render  religion  earthly  —  to  withdraw  all 
attention  from  self-denial  —  to  cause  us  to  forget 
our  Master's  lesson,  that  though  in  the  world  we 
are  not  of  the  world — and  to  induce  those  about 
us  to  suppose  that  the  "  strait  gate "  has  been 
widened,  and  the  "narrow  way"  become  broad. 
They  look  in  vain  for  those  exhibitions  of  a  liv- 
ing faith  which  distinguished  the  early  Christians, 
and  are  therefore  tempted  to  believe,  that  the 
days  of  self-discipline  are  over,  and  an  easier  en- 
trance found  into  God's  holy  kingdom. 

The  very  proofs  too  of  Christian  character  — 
the  marks  by  which  we  should  ascertain  our 
spiritual  state  —  are  in  this  age  of  novelties  so 
perverted  and  mystified,  that  it  is  often  difficult 
for  an  inquirer  to  decide,  whether  or  not  he  has 
a  right  to  those  promises  of  the  Gospel  which 
are  made  to  the  contrite  and  believing.  With 
some,  every  thing  rests  upon  abstract  notions  of 


46  THE   LENTEff  FAST. 

faith,  as  if  the  last  Great  Judgment  would  only 
be  a  trial  of  their  orthodoxy.  With  others,  all 
religion  is  resolved  into  a  matter  of  mere  feeling. 
Forgetting  that  the  degree  of  excitement  depends 
upon  the  power  of  the  imagination,  or  the  pecu- 
liar constitution  of  the  mind,  they  are  continually 
striving  to  elevate  themselves  to  a  greater  intens- 
ity of  emotion,  and  thus  make  "this,  intangible  as 
it  is,  their  test  of  religious  character.  The  latter 
form  of  delusion  indeed  we  may  characterize  as 
being  in  an  especial  degree,  the  popular  one  of 
the  day.  This  awakening  of  the  sensibilities  and 
of  the  imagination,  is  substituted  in  the  place  ot 
that  calm,  settled,  decided  resolution  to  obey  the 
will  of  our  Master,  which  alone  can  be  an  effi- 
cient rule  of  conduct  in  this  evil  world.  These 
unearthly  paroxysms  of  devotion,  which  soon 
pass  away  and  leave  behind  them  no  abiding 
holiness,  are  trusted  to,  instead  of  that  "  patient 
continuance  in  well  doing,"  which  alone  can  lead 
us  on  to  u  eternal  life." 

How  necessary  is  it  then,  that  there  should  be- 
times of  reflection,  when  we  may  realize  what 
are  the  true  evidences  of  having  passed  from 
spiritual  death,  to  the  light  and  liberty  of 


OBJECT   OF    ITS   INSTITUTION.  47 

own  children  !  And  it  is  to  the  standard  ol"  pure 
religion,  that  the  Church  at  this  time  endeavors 
to  recall  us.  A  perpetual  witness  for  the  faitn, 
her  voice  is  heard  "  through  the  ages  all  along," 
publishing  truths  of  which  an  evil  world  would 
willingly  lose  sight,  and  pointing  her  members 
to  the  bright  examples  of  those  who,  in  earlier, 
purer  days,  "  fought  the  good  fight,"  and  "  inher- 
ited the  promises."  From  her  we  learn,  that  reli- 
gion consists,  not  in  talking  much  and  eloquently 
on  the  subject — not  alone  in  striving  to  feel  spirit- 
ually—  not  even  in  being  warm  and  earnest  in 
aiding  the  progress  of  the  Church.  An  individual 
may  do  all  these  things,  and  yet  be  only  like 
"  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal."  That 
faith  of  the  heart  by  which  we  "  believe  unto 
righteousness,"  is  no  wavering  impulse.  It  is  a 
fixed,  steadfast  habit  of  the  mind,  shown  by  our 
renouncing  the  spirit  of  the  world  —  subduing 
our  own  evil  tempers  —  living  "  soberly,  righte- 
ously, and  godly"  -"crucifying  the  flesh,  with 
the  affections  and  lusts  "  —  and  acting  in  truth  as 
the  self-denying  followers  of  that  Master  of  whom 
it  is  recorded,  that  He  "  pleased  not  Himself." 
And  while  the  Church  thus  defines  the  evi- 


48  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

deuces  of  spiritual  life,  and  declares  the  Christian 
conflict  to  be  "  an  earnest,  endless  strife,"20  she  at 
the  same  time  most  sternly  rebukes  the  compro- 
mising spirit  of  the  day.  She  summons  her 
children  to  come  out  from  a  sinful  and  apostate 
world.  She  bids  them  not  live  as  other  men  do, 
in  ease  and  idleness,  when  so  much  is  to  be  ac- 
complished for  their  Lord.  She  inquires  how 
they  can  be  "  delicate  on  the  earth,"  when  they 
are  called  by  their  Master  to  "  drink  of  the  cup 
of  which  He  drank,"  and  to  be  conformed  to  Him 
alike  in  His  sufferings  and  His  life.  And  it  is 
by  the  abstinence  and  self-mortification  of  this 
solemn  season,  that  she  strives  to  impress  these 
lessons.  If  therefore  they  listen  to  her  teaching, 
and  tread  this  scene  of  mists  and  shadows  beneath 
their  feet,  each  returning  year  will  endow  them 
with  added  strength,  while  they  travel  onward 
to  that  world  of  light,  to  which  she  points  them 
as  their  eternal  home.  They  will  learn  to  despise 

20  "  One  only  way  to  life ; 

One  faith  delivered  once  for  all ; 

One  holy  band,  endowed  with  Heaven's  high  call ; 

One  earnest,  endless  strife — 

This  is  the  Church  th'  Eternal  framed  of  old." 

Apostolica. 


OBJECT   OF   ITS   INSTITUTION.  49 

the  fleeting  and  the  perishable,  and  even  while 
still  imprisoned  in  this  tabernacle  of  clay  their 
spirits  will  yearn  for  communion  with  the  Endu- 
ring and  the  Infinite. 

Another  reason  for  the  institution  of  this  season 
in  Primitive  times  was  —  WITH  REFERENCE  TO 

TWO  CLASSES  OF  INDIVIDUALS  WHO  WERE  THEN  TO 
BE  RECEIVED  INTO  THE  ClIURCH. 

One  class  was  that  of  the  Catechumens,  who 
had  been  preparing  for  Baptism.  As  Easter  was 
the  fixed  and  solemn  time  for  their  admission  to 
this  rite,21  the  Church  fasted  with  them  as  a  pre- 
paratory step  to  their  commencing  a  religious 
life.  Thus  Justin  Martyr  in  the  second  century 
declares  —  "  As  many  as  are  persuaded,  and  do 
believe  that  the  things  taught  and  said  by  us  are 
true,  and  promise  to  live  accordingly,  they  are 
instructed  to  pray,  and  with  fasting  to  beg  of 
God  remission  of  sins,  wre  praying  and  fasting 

21  The  most  celebrated  time  for  Baptism  in  the  early 
Church,  was  Easter /  next  to  that,  Pentecost,  or  Whit- 
suntide, and  then  Epiphany.  The  Church  however  still 
allowed  her  members  the  liberty  to  anticipate  these  times, 
if  either  Catechumens  were  great  proficients,  or  in  danger 
of  death  by  disease  or  any  sudden  accident.  —  BIXGIIAII'S 
Orig.  Eccles.,  lib.  xi.,  cli.  6,  sec.  7. 

3 


60  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

together  with  them.  Then  they  are  brought  to 
the  place  where  water  is,  and  are  regenerated 
after  the  same  manner  of  regeneration  as  we 
were  regenerated  before  them."22  In  the  same 
manner,  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  thus  addresses  the 
Catechumens :  u  The  present  season  is  a  season 
of  confession;  all  worldly  cares  are  to  be  laid 
aside,  for  you  strive  for  your  souls.  You  that 
have  been  busy  about  the  things  of  the  world, 
and  troubled  in  vain  for  many  years,  will  ye  not 
bestow  forty  days  in  prayer  for  the  salvation  of 
your  souls  ?  "  And  again,  he  says  —  u  there  is  a 
large  time  given  you.  You  have  the  Penance 
before  you  of  forty  days,  sufficient  space  and 
opportunity  to  put  off  the  old  garments  and  put 
on  the  new."28  Upon  this  account  all  candidates 
for  baptism  were  obliged  to  give  in  thdr  names, 
forty  days  before  the  administration  of.  the  rite. 

Such  was  the  interest  the  early  Christum*  took 
in  those  who  were  to  be  united  with  them  in  the 
fellowship  of  the  Church.  They  were  jealous  for 
the  honor  of  their  Master,  and  the  purity  of  the 
faith.  They  were  earnest  that  those  ;U\>\;t  to 

22  BINGIIAM,  lib.  xxi.,  eli.  1,  sec.  12. 
28  BINUHAM,  lib.  xxi.,  eli.  1,  see.  12. 


OBJECT   OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  55 

avow  His  name  should  not  walk  unworthy  of 
their  calling,  and  therefore  through  all  this  season, 
they  prayed  and  fasted  with  them.  They  felt  a 
zeal  for  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful,  and  an 
ardent  desire  that  no  stain  should  rest  upon  the 
religion  they  professed.  They  realized,  that  they 
were  a  little  band,  surrounded  by  a  world  which 
loved  them  not.  Beyond  their  own  little  circle 
they  could  expect  no  sympathy,  but  lived  isolated 
and  apart  from  those  among  whom  they  dwelt-. 
When  therefore,  as  was  always  done  by  the 
Apostles,  they  were  addressed  as  "  brethren,"  a 
chord  was  struck,  which  vibrated  through  every 
heart.  They  knew  that  they  were  "  heirs  together 
of  the  grace  of  life." 

May  we  not  therefore  take  "  shame  and  con- 
fusion of  face"  to  ourselves,  because  we  are  so 
deficient  in  this  feeling !  In  this  age  of  cold  and 
selfish  worldliness,  we  have  almost  ceased  to 
regard  the  "  communion  of  Saints"  as  a  reality. 
And  yet,  though  we  think  not  of  it,  the  tie  is  a 
most  holy  one,  which  unites  those  who  are  disci- 
ples of  the  same  faith.  They  are  looking  upward 
to  a  common  Master,  invisible  indeed  to  the 
eye  of  sense,  yet  whose  presence  they  every 


52  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

where  recognize  in  the  occurrences  of  daily  life. 
Combatants  in  the  same  warfare,  they  are  ex- 
posed to  equal  dangers  —  are  contending  against 
common  enemies  —  share  in  the  same  hopes  and 
fears  —  and  when  the  hour  of  victory  comes,  ex- 
pect to  join  in  one  triumph,  and  rejoice  in  the 
same  bright  reward.  It  is  no  imaginary  bond, 
therefore,  which  unites  in  fellowship  the  faithful 
in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  a  community  of  interest  in 
all  that  men  should  count  most  valuable.  They 
are  members  of  one  great  fraternity,  which 
gathers  out  its  chosen  ones  from  every  genera- 
tion, and  includes  the  just  who  have  already 
passed  into  the  promised  Canaan,  and  those  who 
are  still  toiling  onward  in  the  wilderness.  In  the 
beautiful  words  of  one  of  our  own  hymns — 

"Angels,  and  living  saints,  and  dead, 

But  one  communion  make; 
All  join  in  Christ,  their  vital  Head, 

And  of  His  love  partake." 

And  the  reason  why  this  great  truth  is  now 
so  little  appreciated,  is  obvious.  It  is  because 
heresy  and  schism  have  entered  "the  consecrated 
host  of  God's  elect,"  rending  it  asunder,  tearing 
in  pieces  "  the  body  of  Christ,  which  is  His 


OBJECT   OF   ITS   INSTITUTION.  53 

Church,"  and  arraying  the  followers  of  the  same 
Lord  against  each  other  in  hostile  bands.  Every 
strange  form  of  error  which  the  intellect  of  fallen 
man  could  engraft  upon  the  Gospel,  is  rife  around 
us,  until  the  pure  Faith  stands  like  Milton's  per- 
sonification of  Chastity,  amidst  "  the  rout  of 
monsters"  who  composed  the  crew  of  Comus. 
The  Church  herself  is  as  a  beleaguered  city,  and 
the  countless  parties  by  which  she  is  encircled, 
"  have  pitched  their  tents  all  about  the  holy  camp, 
like  the  mixed  multitude  that  followed  the  true 
Israel  of  God  from  out  the  land  of  Egypt." 
And  the  result  is,  that  men  become  accustomed 
to  the  sight  of  discord  and  the  cry  of  disunion. 
They  even  forget  the  "  fellowship  "  which  should 
subsist  between  those  who  "  continue  steadfastly 
in  the  Apostles'  doctrine,  and  in  breaking  of 
bread,  and  in  prayers."  Party  names  fill  the 
earth,  and  individuals  withdraw  themselves  into 
their  own  little  circles,  and  send  forth  no  sym- 
pathy and  love  to  the  millions  who  are  without, 
though  their  faith  may  be  the  same.  But  how 
different  is  this  from  the  feeling  which  prevailed 
in  ancient  times  !  Then,  when  the  fold  of  Christ 
was  one  and  her  prayers  in  every  place  the 


54  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

same,  her  members,  wherever  they  were  in  the 
earth,  felt  that  they  were  among  brethren,  and 
recognized  in  every  lineament  the  same  Church 
which  had  existed  "  in  their  father's  days,  and  in 
the  old  time  before  them."  Then,  in  the  remote 
East,  and  in  Northern  Africa,  as  well  as  in  West- 
ern Europe,  they  were  all  united  in  "  one  Lord, 
one  faith,  one  baptism." 

Touching  indeed  is  the  illustration  given  of  this 
truth,  by  the  feelings  awakened  in  the  mind  of  a 
celebrated  Venetian  traveler  of  those  days,  when 
a  wanderer  from  his  home,  in  one  of  the  cities  of 
distant  England,  he  met  a  funeral  train  !  "  There 
was  nothing  new,  or  strange,  or  singular,  about 
the  burial  procession,  particularly  calculated  to 
excite  the  attention  of  Marco  Polo.  The  De 
Profundis  of  the  stoled  priest  spake  the  universal 
language,  adopted  by  the  most  sublime  of  human 
compositions,  the  Liturgy  of  Western  Christen- 
dom. Yet,  though  no  objects  appeared  which 
could  awaken  any  lively  curiosity  in  the  traveler, 
there  was  much  in  their  familiarity  to  excite  the 
sympathy  of  the  wanderer  in  a  foreign  land. 
With  an  altered  tone  he  said  to  the  friar,  l  Sad- 
dened is  the  spirit  of  the  pilgrim,  by  the  dying 


OBJECT   OF   ITS  INSTITUTION.  55 

twilight  and  the  plaining  Vesper  bell.  Bat  he 
who  braves  every  danger  for  himself,  may  feel 
his  heart  sink  within  him  when  the  pageant  of 
triumphant  death  brings  to  his  mind  the  thought, 
that  those  from  whom  as  he  weened,  he  parted 
for  a  little  time  only,  may  have  been  already 
borne  to  the  sepulchre.  Yet  there  is  also  a  great 
and  enduring  comfort  to  the  traveler  in  Christen- 
dom. However  uncouth  may  be  the  speech  of 
the  races  amongst  whom  the  pilgrim  sojourns, 
however  diversified  may  be  the  customs  of  the 
regions  which  he  visits,  let  him  enter  the  portal 
.of  the  Church,  or  hear,  as  I  do  now,  the  voice  of 
the  minister  of  the  Grospel,  and  he  is  present  with 
his  own,  though  Alps  and  oceans  may  sever  them 
asunder.  There  is  one  spot  where  the  pilgrim 
always  finds  his  home.  We  are  all  one  people 
when  we  come  before  the  Altar  of  the  Lord.'  '724 

How  beautiful  is  this  picture !  and  how  sad 
does  it  make  the  change  which  now  we  witness ! 
What  a  dejection  of  spirit  often  comes  over  the 
Christian,  as  he  is  reminded  of  this  subject  in 
repeating  the  Confession  —  "I  believe  in  one 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  !  "  Is  there  not 

24  Sir  FKANCIS  PALGEAVE'S  Merchant  and  Friar,  p.  138. 


56  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

reason,  then,  at  this  Holy  season,  when  the  Uni- 
versal Church  is  every  where  at  the  same  time 
prostrating  herself  before  the  Lord,  that  we 
should  pray  for  a  return  of  those  golden  days 
when  the  faithful  were  one  in  heart  and  name  ? 
Yes  —  though  oceans  may  roll  between,  and  we 
never  meet  face  to  face  on  earth,  we  have  still 
an  interest  in  each  one  who  is  united  with  the 
Church,  wherever  he  may  be,  for  we  are  all 
"  members  of  one  another."  Let  us  then  petition 
our  Common  Father,  that  he  will  grant  us  more 
of  that  spirit  which  distinguished  the  Christian 
host  in  earlier  and  better  days,  until  we  realize, 
that  He  "  has  knit  together  his  elect  In  one  com- 
munion and  fellowship,  in  the  mystical  body  of 
His  Son  Christ  our  Lord."25 

The  other  class  of  persons,  who  were  preparing 
at  this  time  to  be  received  into  the  Church,  were 
the  Penitents,  who  had  once  been  cut  off  for 
their  sins,  but  after  having  completed  their  Can<  >n- 
ical  time  of  probation,  during  which  they  were 
excluded  from  her  services,  were  generally  ab- 
solved and  readmitted  at  the  time  of  the  Easter 
Festival.  Some  of  them  for  flagrant  sins  had 

25  Collect  for  All  Saints'  Day. 


OBJECT   OF  ITS  INSTITUTION.  57 

been  kept  under  this  penitential  discipline  for 
years,  until  by  evident  humility  and  earnestness, 
they  had  given  the  fullest  proof  of  their  contrition 
and  amendment.26  It  is  to  this  that  an  ancient 
Bishop  refers,  when  he  says — "  The  Anniversary 
solemnity  of  Easter,  was  not  only  the  time  of  re- 
generating Catechumens,  but  of  begetting  those 
again  to  a  lively  hope,  who  had  forfeited  it  by 
their  sin,  but  were  desirous  to  regain  it  by  re- 
pentance and  conversion  from  dead  works,  to 
walk  again  in  the  paths  of  life."27  Cyprian  also 
in  his  Epistles,  speaks  of  Easter  as  the  great  and 
solemn  time  of  readmitting  Penitents. 

These  indeed  were  the  clays  of  rigid  discipline 

26  The  discipline  was  far  from  being  nominal.  It  was 
often  such  as  nothing  "but  the  deepest  feelings  of  contrition 
could  have  induced  them  to  bear.  In  some  cases,  they 
were  obliged  to  appear  in  sackcloth,  with  ashes  on  their 
heads  —  the  men  to  cut  off  their  hair,  and  the  women  to 
go  veiled,  as  a  token  of  sorrow  and  mourning  —  to  abstain 
from  feasting,  and  even  the  innocent  diversions  of  life  — 
to  practice  abstinence,  mortification  and  fasting,  in  private, 
as  well  as  to  observe  the  public  fasts  of  the  Church  —  to 
show  their  liberality  to  the  poor  in  an  eminent  degree  — 
and  in  some  Churches  to  exercise  their  humility  by  taking 
upon  themselves  the  office  and  care  of  burying  the  dead. 
See  BINGIIAM,  lib.  xviii.,  ch.  2,  sec.  4. 

2T  Gregory  Nyssen.     (BINGIIAM,  lib.  xxi.,  ch.  1,  sec.  13.) 


58  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

in  the  Church,  when  the  offender  was  obliged 
to  make  his  confession  and  his  repentance  as 
open  as  his  sin,  that  no  stain  might  rest  upon  the 
purity  of  the  faith.  And  in  enforcing  these  rules, 
no  immunity  was  granted  to  rank  or  power. 
Look,  for  example,  at  the  case  of  the  Emperor 
Theodosius.  Having  ordered  a  massacre  by  his 
troops  at  Thessalonica,  in  which  several  thousand 
lives  were  sacrificed,  St.  Ambrose,  the  Bishop  of 
Milan,  at  once  charged  him  with  his  guilt,  and 
refused  to  hold  intercourse  with  one  thus  stained 
with  innocent  blood.  The  doors  of  the  Church 
were  closed  against  the  Master  of  the  world, 
and  he  was  commanded  to  bow  to  that  authority 
which  is  above  all  earthly  rule.  The  subordina- 
tion of  the  civil  to  the  ecclesiastical  power  was 
clearly  proclaimed  in  that  emphatic  sentence  — 
"  The  Emperor  is  of  the  Church,  and  in  the 
Church,  but  not  above  the  Church."  Having 
desired,  even  on  the  Festival  of  the  Nativity,  to 
attend  its  services,  he  was  met  at  the  entrance  of 
the  sanctuary  by  the  intrepid  prelate,  who  boldly 
rebuked  him  for  his  want  of  humility,  and  ordered 
him  not  to  pollute  the  temple  with  his  presence 
until  he  had  been  absolved  from  his  iniquity, 


OBJECT   OF   ITS  INSTITUTION.  59 

Thus,  for  eiglit  months,  lie  was  ignominiously 
excluded  from  those  holy  offices  of  the  Church 
which  were  freely  afforded  to  the  meanest  of  his 
subjects  —  even  to  the  beggar  and  the  slave. 
Theodosius  pleaded  in  his  defence  the  example 
of  David.  "  Since  then  you  have  imitated  his 
offence" -- replied  the  Bishop  —  "imitate  also  his 
penitence."  At  length,  on  his  public  humiliation, 
Bt.  Ambrose  consented  to  admit  the  Emperor, 
not  into  the  Church  itself,  but  into  the  outer 
porch,  the  place  for  the  public  penitents.  There, 
prostrate  on  the  pavement,  stripped  of  his  impe- 
lial  ornaments,  beating  his  breast,  and  watering 
the  ground  with  his  tears,  the  master  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  the  legislator  of  the  world, 
received  his  hard  wrung  absolution.  Thus  it  was 
that  the  Church  then  stood  forth  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  oppressed,  and  extended  her  penalties 
over  the  mightiest  of  the  earth.28 

But  how  imposing  must  have  been  this  peni- 
tential discipline,  so  rigorously  enforced  !  "  The 
Church  was  not  then  divided  into  separate  inde- 
pendent bodies,  holding  no  communication  with 

28  MILMAN'S  History  of  Christianity,  vol.  ii.,  p.  2b'0. 


GO  THE    LKXTKN    FAST. 

eacli  other,  which  might  enable  an  offender  when 
expelled  from  one  to  attach  himself  to  another, 
and  thus  maintain,  in  defiance  of  his  condemners, 
an  outward  union  with  Christ.  He  might  as 
well  have  endeavored  to  escape  the  penalties  of 
rebellion  against  the  head  of  the  Roman  Empire 
by  removing  from  one  province  to  another.  So 
spotless  too  was  her  innocence,  so  bright  her 
holiness,  that  none  dared  question  for  a  moment 
the  justice  of  her  decisions ;  and  her  sentence, 
however  rigorous  it  might  be,  was  deemed  to  be 
ratified  in  Heaven ;  to  be  cut  off  from  her,  was 
effectually  to  be  cut  off  from  Christ.  Thus,  both 
her  blessings  and  her  censures  were  an  outward 
expression,  an  earthly  type,  by  which  men  were 
warned  of  what  judgment  was  proceeding  in 
Heaven  upon  their  conduct  of  life,  and  her  slow- 
ness of  forgiveness,  and  the  fiery  probation  to 
which  she  submitted  the  penitent,  were  well 
calculated  to  dispel  those  hurtful  notions  which 
men  now  so  generally  entertain  of  the  ease  and 
the  speed  of  the  process  of  forgiveness  of  sins."28 
The  multitude,  often  but  partially  reclaimed  from 

29  Rectory  of  Valchead,  p.  164. 


OBJECT   OF   ITS   INSTITUTION.  gi 

barbarism,  who  could  be  restrained  by  no  worldly 
motives,  and  over  whom  the  civil  authority  of  the 
land  exerted  but  little  power  when  it  came  into 
conflict  with  their  passions,  were  obliged  to  trem- 
ble as  the  awful  denunciations  of  the  Church  fell 
upon  their  ears.  To  them  there  was  a  fearful  yet 
salutary  lesson  taught,  by  the  public  shame  of  the 
penitent  —  his  deep  humiliation  —  the  bitterness 
and  intensity  of  his  remorse.  It  was  with  these 
individuals,  then,  whose  probation  had  been  so 
severe,  but  who  were  now  again  to  be  received 
into  the  body  of  the  faithful,  that  the  Church  at 
this  season  prayed  and  fasted,  that  their  sins 
might  be  washed  away,  and  the  comfortable 
hope  which  once  they  had  forfeited  be  again 
restored. 

And  if  the  evil  days  on  which  we  have  fallen, 
prevent  the  Church  in  this  age  from  enforcing 
with  a  wholesome  severity,  her  primitive  disci- 
pline, is  there  not  double  reason  why  her  mem- 
bers should  bewail  their  sins,  and  pray  God  not 
to  visit  upon  them  the  recompense  of  their 
offences  ?  Should  not  their  petition  be — "  Spare 
thy  people,  good  Lord,  and  let  not  thine  heritage 
be  brought  to  confusion  ? "  And  in  harmony 


62  THE   LENTEN"   FAST. 

with  such  convictions,  we  find  that  all  the  ser- 
vices of  Lent  breathe  an  evident  feeling  of  con- 
trition —  that  we  every  where  present  ourselves 
n  the  attitude  of  humility,  and  pray  our  merciful 
Father  to  grant  us  "  perfect  remission  and  for- 
giveness." Let  us  strive  then  to  partake  of  the 
spirit  of  these  petitions:  and  when  we  look  around 
us  and  remember  how  far,  as  a  Church,  we  have 
wandered  from  the  path  of  primitive  holiness, 
how  lukewarm  is  our  devotion,  and  how  feeble 
our  faith  compared  with  what  it  should  be,  we 
shall  realize  that  there  is  reason  for  that  deep 
and  searching  penitence  which  our  Muster  seeks 
to  kindle  up  within  us,  and  the  expression  of 
which  is  heard  so  often  in  our  Liturgy. 

These,  then,  are  the  reasons  which  induced 
the  early  Church  to  institute  this  Holy  Season, 
thus  exercising  the  power  entrusted  to  her,  "  to 
decree  rites  and  ceremonies/'30  It  is  with  her 
sanction  that  we  are  summoned  to  its  observance. 
It  is  impressed  upon  us  by  the  solemn  voice 
which  comes  down  from  the  years  of  a  distant 
and  dim  antiquity.  In  these  services  many  gen- 

80  Article  xx.  Of  the  Authority  of  the  Church — "  The 
Church  hath  power  to  decree  rites  or  ceremonies." 


OBJECT   OF   ITS   INSTITUTION.  53 

erations  have  already  joined,  and  thus  gathered 
strength  for  the  journey  which  lay  before  them. 
They  have  long  since  passed  away,  leaving  to  us 
not  only  their  bright  examples,  but  also  the 
record  of  their  experience.  We  stand  in  their 
places.  We  are  the  honored  guardians  of  all 
those  rites  and  institutions  which  they  in  their 
day  found  useful  in  the  Church,  and  then  be- 
queathed to  such  as  should  come  after  them. 
Solemn  indeed  is  the  trust  —  may  we  never  be- 
tray it !  May  we  always  remember  that  we  are 
"  baptized  for  the  dead"  -inheriting  their  re- 
sponsibilities —  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  labors 
—  and  that  we  must  commit  this  sacred  heritage 
undiminished  to  our  successors.  Let  us  never 
then  be  willing  to  give  up  these  ancient  services, 
which  were  used  by  the  holy  dead,  whose  mem- 
ory we  love,  or  to  substitute  in  their  place  the 
novelties  of  an  age  u  emulous  of  change."  Let 
us  be  content  to  tread  the  path  which  still  gleams 
brightly  with  the  steps  of  those  who  for  Christ's 
sake  and  the  gospel's  "  counted  not  their  lives 
dear  unto  themselves."  Let  us  strive,  as  they 
did,  against  an  unholy  world — loving  with  a  true 
devotion,  the  Church  for  which  they  died  —  and 


64  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

seeking  to  imbibe  the  spirit  which  reigns  in  her 
courts.  And  then,  when  "  life's  fitful  fever "  is 
over,  we  shall  be  admitted  with  the  just  whom 
we  have  followed  on  earth,  to  the  Paradise  of 
God  —  to  "  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of 
the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  Heaven." 


THE  PROPER  OBSERVANCE  OF  LENT. 


Nor  wonder  that  the  widow'd  Church  should  sound 
Of  sadness ;  there  are  mourners  CHRIST  hath  blest, 

Who  watch  with  her  their  annual,  weekly  round, 
And  in  obedience  find  the  promised  rest. 

The  CatkedraL 


II. 

THE  PROPER  OBSERVANCE  OF  LENT. 


WE  are  told,  that  in  one  of  the  darkest  periods 
of  Jerusalem's  apostacy,  and  when  her  ruin  by 
a  powerful  invader  was  just  at  hand,  another 
reprieve  was  granted,  and  one  more  summons  to 
repentance  sent  forth.  "  And  in  that  day  did  the 
Lord  God  of  Hosts  call  to  weeping,  and  to 
mourning,  and  to  baldness,  and  to  girding  with 
sackcloth ;  and  behold,  joy  and  gladness."  Thus 
it  was,  that  her  people  scorned  the  prophet's 
message,  and  turned  as  usual  to  their  worldly 
pleasures.  But  the  decision  of  God  upon  their 
conduct,  is  thus  given  by  Isaiah:  "And  it  was 
revealed  in  mine  ear  by  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
Surely  this  iniquity  shall  not  be  purged  from  you 
till  ye  die,  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Llosts."1 

1  Isaiah  xxii.,  12,  13,  14. 


68  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

And  thus,  by  the  voice  of  His  Church,  is  God 
at  this  season  calling  us  also  u  to  Aveeping  and 
mourning."  So  comprehensive  too  is  the  sum- 
mons, that  none  who  bear  the  Christian  name  can 
plead  exemption.  The  command  is  —  Blow  the 
trumpet  in  Zion,  sanctify  a  fast,  call  a  solemn 
assembly,  gather  the  people,  sanctify  the  congre- 
gation, assemble  the  elders,  gather  the  children, 
and  those  that  suck  at  the  breasts ;  let  the  bride- 
groom go  forth  of  his  chamber,  and  the  bride  out 
of  her  closet ;  let  the  priests,  the  ministers  of  the 
Lord,  weep  between  the  porch  and  the  altar,  and 
let  them  say,  Spare  thy  people,  O  Lord,  and  pve 
not  thy  heritage  to  reproach.8  In  this  way  it  is, 
we  are  directed,  by  chastening  our  spirits,  to  pre- 
pare to  celebrate  our  Lord's  solemn  sacrifice  — 
that  mysterious  passion  and  agony  which  the 
world  can  never  fully  comprehend,  and  to  the 
history  of  which  it  can  only  listen,  with  an  awful 
reverence.  How  then  shall  we  keep  this  holy 
season  ?  How  can  we  most  fully  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  its  services — availing  ourselves  of  these 
opportunities  to  approach  our  God — afflicting  the 

2  Scripture  appointed  for  the  Epistle  for  Ash-Wednes- 
day. 


ITS   PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  69 

soul  now,  that  hereafter  it  may  be  saved  forever  ? 
In  answer  to  these  inquiries,  and  that  we  may 
know  how  to  carry  out  the  design  of  the  Church 
for  our  spiritual  benefit,  let  us  look  at  some  of 
the  methods  in  which  we  may  best  observe  this 
solemn  period  of  our  Ecclesiastical  year. 

ABSTINENCE  FROM  WORLDLY  AMUSEMENTS,  is 
one  particular  wrhich  most  naturally  occurs  to  us. 
In  the  early  Church,  not  only  was  the  attendance 
of  her  members  on  all  public  games  and  shows 
forbidden  during  the  season  of  Lent,  but  the 
prohibition  was  even  extended  to  the  celebration 
of  marriages,  and  the  anniversaries  of  birth  days, 
because  these  took  place  with  feasting,  and  tokens 
of  joy  and  pleasure,  inappropriate  to  a  season 
which  should  be  devoted  to  deep  humiliation  and 
mourning.8  St.  Chrysostom,  in  his  Lent  sermons, 
inveighs  with  his  usual  zeal,  against  any  violation 
of  these  salutary  rules.  In  the  midst  of  his  sharp 
invectives  against  those  who  had  attended  the 
Circus  at  this  time,  he  says :  "  When  I  consider, 
how  at  one  blast  of  the  devil  ye  have  forgotten 
all  my  daily  admonitions  and  continued  discourses, 
and  run  to  that  pomp  of  Satan,  the  horse-race  in 

8  See  BIN-GUAM'S  Orig.  Ecdes.,  lib.  xxi.,  ch.  1,  sec.  21. 


70  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

the  Circus,  with  what  heart  can  I  think  of  preach- 
ing to  you  again,  who  have  so  soon  let  slip  all 
that  I  said  before  ?  This  is  what  chiefly  raises 
my  grief,  yea  my  anger  and  indignation,  that 
together  with  my  admonition  ye  have  cast  the 
reverence  of  this  holy  season  of  Lent  out  of  your 
souls,  and  thrown  yourselves  into  the  nets  of  the 
devil.  What  profit  is  there  in  your  fasting! 
What  advantage  in  your  meeting  together  so 
often  in  this  place?"4  And  again,  in  another 
Homily,  while  in  a  pathetic  manner  exhibiting 
to  them  the  moral  influence  of  this  conduct,  his 
language  is — "  Subdue,  I  beseech  you,  this  wicked 
and  pernicious  custom.  And  consider,  that  thr-y 
who  run  to  the  Circus,  not  only  do  much  harm 
to  themselves,  but  are  the  occasion  of  great  scan- 
dal to  others.  For  when  the  Jews  and  Gentiles 
see  you,  who  are  every  day  at  Church  to  hour  a 
sermon,  come  notwithstanding  to  the  horse-race, 
and  join  with  them  in  the  Circus,  will  they  not 
reckon  our  religion  a  cheat,  and  entertain  the 
same  suspicion  of  us  all  ?  They  will  sharpen  their 
tongues  against  us  all,  and  for  the  offences  of  a 
few  condemn  the  whole  body  of  Christians, 
4  ST.  CIIRYS.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  49,  Horn.  C,  in  Gen. 


ITS   PilOPER   OBSERVANCE.  71 

Neither  will  they  stop  here,  but  rail  at  our  Head, 
and  for  the  servant's  fault  blaspheme  our  com- 
mon Lord,  and  think  that  a  sufficient  apology 
and  excuse  for  their  own  errors,  that  they  have 
something  to  object  to  the  life  and  conversation 
of  others."5 

And  if  worldly  amusements  have  in  this  age 
changed  their  form,  still  their  nature  and  influ- 
ence are  the  same.  A  ceaseless  struggle  for  our 
affections  is  going  on,  and  the  choice  we  make 
determines  our  state,  not  only  in  this  life,  but 
through  all  the  wasteless  ages  of  our  immortality. 
The  tempter  still  arrays  before  the  Christian,  the 
glare  and  gaudiness  of  this  fleeting  scene,  that 
his  attention  may  be  distracted,  and  his  progress 
towards  Heaven  impeded.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  the  object  of  our  faith,  to  cause  him  to  look 
away  beyond  u  things  seen  and  temporal "  to 
those  which  are  u  unseen  and  eternal."  We  must 
live  in  this  lower  world,  as  pilgrims  whose  hopes 
and  affections  are  not  here — who  bear  about  with 
them  the  consciousness  that  this  is  not  their  home, 
but  that  they  are  only  journey ers  through  the 
wilderness,  toiling  onward  to  the  promised  land. 

6  ST.  CITRYS.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  61,  Horn.  7,  in  Gen. 


72  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

"We  are  to  be  like  St.  Paul,  "  crucified  with  our 
Lord  to  the  world,  and  the  world  to  us '' — gazing 
on  its  pleasures  with  the  same  unconcern  with 
which  the  dying  man  would  from  the  Cross — 
putting  it  from  us,  and  leaving  untried  no  means 
which  may  avail,  to  destroy  the  witchery  of  its 
enchantments,  and  to  break  its  power  over  our 
hearts.  We  are  even  to  give  up  its  lawful  com- 
forts and  its  innocent  enjoyments,  when  called  to 
this  sacrifice  for  any  worthy  end ;  for  there  may 
come  occasion  to  the  follower  of  the  Lord  to 
"  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  reproaches,  in 
necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses  for  Christ's 
friko."  Thus,  in  striving  to  be  more  conformed 
to  his  Master,  or  more  entirely  to  be  disentangled 
from  this  scene  of  temptation,  lie  may  be  obliged 
to  offer  upon  the  altar  of  Christian  duty,  all  those 
affections  which  twine  most  closely  about  the 
heart,  "  losing  his  life  for  Christ's  sake  and  the 
Gospel's,  that  he  may  save  it." 

"  Sweet  is  the  smile  of  home ;  the  mutual  look 

When  hearts  are  of  each  other  sure ; 
Sweet  all  the  joys  that  crowd  the  household  nook, 

The  haunt  of  all  affections  pure; 
Yet  in  the  world  even  these  abide,  and  we 

Above  the  world  our  calling  boast  : 


ITS   PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  73 

Once  gain  the  mountain  top,  and  thou  art  free ; 

Till  then,  who  rest,  presume;  who  turn  to  look,  are 
lost."6 

It  was  to  escape  the  unholy  influence  of  this 
world's  fascinations,  that  the  followers  of  our 
Lord  were  accustomed,  in  the  olden  time,  to  flee 
from  this  scene  of  trial,  and  in  the  solitary  her- 
mitage, or  the  desert  waste,  where  no  man  was, 
to  pass  their  lives  in  communion  with  their  God, 
and  in  making  ready  for  their  last  account.  But 
no  precept  of  Scripture  authorized  them  to  rend 
the  ties  of  duty,  and  for  a  selfish  motive,  to  burst 
the  chains  which  bound  them  to  home  and  kin- 
dred. "It  is  a  wretched  righteousness" — says 
Luther,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Spenlein — "  which 
will  not  bear  with  others,  because  it  deems  them 
evil,  and  seeks  the  solitude  of  the  desert,  instead 
of  doing  good  to  suchj  by  long  suffering,  by 
prayer,  and  example.  If  thou  art  the  lily  and 
the  rose  of  Christ,  know  that  thy  dwelling-place 
is  among  thorns." 

Nor  did  they  by  this  desertion  attain  their 
object.  The  piety  at  which  they  aimed,  was 
tinged  with  dreamy  reveries,  and  evaporated  in 

6  KEBLE'S  Christian  Year.     First  Sunday  in  Lent. 
4 


74  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

contemplation  of  an  imaginary  purity.  The  pas- 
sions in  their  breasts  which  they  had  hoped  to 
root  out,  turned  inward,  and  centered  in  them- 
selves, and  they  found  that  if  they  could  escape 
from  the  world  without,  they  must  still  carry 
with  them  that  little  world  within,  in  subduing 
which  the  conflict  chiefly  consists.  They  had 
cast  from  them  the  weapons  of  their  warfare,  and 
fled  from  the  strife,  leaving  an  ungodly  world  to 
roll  on  to  destruction,  unrebuked  and  unaided, 
and  they  reaped  their  retribution.  They  deprived 
themselves  of  all  those  higlr  and  ennobling  feel- 
ings, which  purify  the  heart,  while  they  animate 
men  to  exertion.  Their  selfishness  recoiled  upon 
themselves,  and  the  dreamy  enthusiast  who  wished 
to  be  wiser  than  Scripture,  and  to  improve  upon 
the  example  of  his  Lord,  found  that  he  had  not 
added  to  the  fortitude  of  his  virtue.  He  had 
sacrificed  his  happiness,  and  become  but  too  often 
only  a  gloomy  misanthrope.1 

7  These  remarks  will  of  course  apply  only  to  the  solita- 
ries. While  their  cells  were  the  very  nurseries  of  super- 
stition, they  were  said,  in  tho  language  of  Alcuiu,  "to  lend 
an  angelical  life."  Archbishop  Lcighton,  however,  much 
more  truly  describes  an  angelical  lite,  as  "  a  life  spent  be- 
tween ascending  in  prayer  to  fetch  blessing*  from  above, 


ITS   PROPER  OBSERVANCE.  75 

The  true  trial  of  our  life  liere  is  to  meet  with 
evil,  and  yet  by  God's  grace  to  overcome  it  — 
to  l>e  in  the  world,  and  yet  so  to  trample  it  under 

our  feet  as  to  show,  that  we   are   not  of  the 

«/ 

and  descending  to  scatter  them  among  men."  The  monas- 
tic institutions  were  free  from  many  of  those  difficulties  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  and  in  the  purer  days  of  the  Church 
rendered  essential  service  to  the  cause  of  religion,  when 
society  around  was  in  a  rude  and  almost  barbarous  state. 
The  monks  were  often  learned  and  industrious  —  the  pat- 
terns of  active  virtue  —  the  liberal  dispensers  of  charity  — 
and  the  zealous  promoters  of  learning  and  the  useful  arts. 
"  It  was  a  great  benefit,  that  there  should  be  places  of 
education,  where  the  young  might  be  trained  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Church  or  State  :  it  was  well  that  there  should 
be  places  of  retirement  where  the  aged  might  end  their 
days  in  penitence  and  prayer ;  and  places  of  refuge,  where 
the  orphan  and  friendless  might  find  support  and  protec- 
tion." (CnuRTox's  Early  Eng.  Church,  p.  104.  See  chap. 
v,  vi.)  They  who  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  were  grasp- 
ing at  the  wealth  of  monasteries,  eagerly  united  to  villify 
their  occupants,  and  succeeding  generations  have  quietly 
received  their  report,  with  scarcely  the  trouble  of  a  doubt. 
But  the  true  history  of  the  monastic  institution  is  yet  to 
be  written,  by  one,  who  with  a  philosophical  eye  can  read 
its  influence  on  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  the  character  of 
society,  and  who  is  ready  with  an  unprejudiced,  impartial 
feeling  to  acknowledge  its  benefits,  while  he  points  out  the 
evils  to  which  it  ultimately  gave  birth. 

It  is  probably  not  known  to  many  of  our  readers,  that  there 
are  in  the  kingdom  of  Hanover,  eleven  Protestant  convents, 
or  (to  give  them  a  better  name)  "  religious  houses."  They 


76  THE    LEXTEN   FAST. 

world  —  to  have  its  fascinations  around  us,  and 
yet  to  turn  from  them.  Its  Circean  song  may 
float  sweetly  to  our  ears,  but  yet  it  must  not 
beguile  us  to  pass  over  into  the  land  of  its  en- 
chantments. It  is  in  the  fiery  ordeal  of  temp- 
tation, and  amidst  the  din  and  struggle  of  the 
conflict,  that  man  learns  to  know  himself,  and  to 
estimate  aright  his  own  spiritual  powers.  His 
hopes  become  more  clear  after  every  conquest 
which  he  makes — his  reliance  upon  things  unseen 
and  eternal  is  strengthened — and  his  whole  Chris- 

o 

tian  character  is  matured  and  perfected.  "  This 
is  the  victory  that  overcome th  the  world,  even 
our  faith."  There  is  true  wisdom  indeed  in  the 
eloquent  words  of  Milton,  when  he  says  —  u  I  Jo 
that  can  apprehend  and  consider  vice  with  all 
her  baits  and  seeming  pleasures,  and  yet  abstain, 
and  yet  distinguish,  and  yet  prefer  that  which  is 

nre  asylums,  to  which  respectable  females  "when  thrown 
out  upon  the  world  by  the  dissolution  of  their  families,  can 
retire,  without  experiencing  those  mortifications  which  arc 
so  frequently  attendant  upon  adversity."  (I) WIGHT'S  (iir- 
many,  p.  100.)  An  English  lady  has  of  Into  years  founded 
a  similar  house,  at  Clifton,  near  Hristol  (CnriiToN's  7v //•/// 
J'^/fj.  Church,  p.  382.)  The  inmates  of  none  of  these, 
institutions,  however,  are  bound  by  those  ensnaring  vows 
which  produced  much  of  the  evil  in  the  Romish  Church. 


ITS  PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  77 

truly  better,  he  is  the  true  wayfaring  Christian. 
I  cannot  praise  a  fugitive  and  cloistered  virtue, 
unexercised  and  unbreathed,  that  never  sallies 
out  and  sees  her  adversary,  but  slinks  out  of  the 
race,  where  that  immortal  garland  is  to  be  run 
for,  not  without  dust  and  heat.  That  which  puri- 
fies us  is  trial,  and  trial  is  by  what  is  contrary. 
Which  was  the  reason  why  our  sage  and  serious 
poet  Spencer,  describing  true  Temperance  under 
the  person  of  Guion,  brings  him  in  with  his 
Palmer  through  the  cave  of  Mammon,  and  the 
bower  of  earthly  bliss,  that  he  might  see  and 
know,  and  yet  abstain." 

Yet  it  is  evident,  on  the  other  hand,  that  a 
temporary  retirement  from  the  bustle  and  tumult 
of  this  busy  life,  is  requisite  to  enable  the  spirit 
to  shake  off  the  worldliness  which  has  been  in- 
sensibly growing  upon  it,  and  to  plume  its  wings 
again  for  Heaven.  It  is  necessary,  that  man 
should  now  and  then  withdraw  within  himself, 
think  of  his  eternal  interests,  and  examine  with 
peculiar  care,  his  account  with  God.  "  We  must 
( retire  inward"  —says  St.  Bernard,  — u  if  we 
would  ascend  upward."  It  is  with  this  view, 
therefore,  that  the  Church  from  the  earliest  age, 


78  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

has  yearly  in  the  season  of  Lent,  recalled  her 
children  from  the  absorbing  cares  of  time,  and 
gathered  them  into  her  own  bosom,  to  meditate 
and  pray. 

The  question  —  how  much  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, we  may  mingle  in  the  gayeties  and 
amusements  of  the  world  —  is  one  which  each 
individual  must  determine  for  himself.  He  knows 
their  effect  upon  his  own  heart,  and  the  influence 
of  his  example  upon  those  around  him,  and  must 
act  accordingly.  If  after  having  in  baptism 
solemnly  renounced  "  the  pomps  and  vanities  of 
this  wicked  world,"  he  still  thinks  it  right  to  de- 
vote himself  to  them,  he  must  be  guided  by  his 
own  conscience  in  this  important  decision.  If 
he  thinks  it  fit,  that  on  Sunday  his  friends  should 
see  him  kneeling  at  the  altar,  professing  to  for- 
sake the  world,  and  then  on  the  week  day,  meet 
him  in  all  its  frivolities  and  gayeties,  until  they 
suspect  that  his  religion  is  only  intended  to  be 
put  on  in  Church,  his  is  the  responsibility,  and 
his  must  be  the  retribution.  To  his  own  Master 
he  must  stand  or  fall.  But  the  hour  is  rapidly 
coming,  when  from  the  bed  of  death  and  the  bar 
of  judgment,  each  one  will  be  forced  to  look  back 


ITS  PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  -79 

upon  these  scenes,  and  decide  whether  he  acted 
well  and  wisely  while  life  was  going  on.8 

Yet  there  are  times  and  seasons,  when  there 
can  be  no  mistake  on  this  subject,  and  when  the 


8  One  of  the  most  common  charges  against  the  Church 
is,  that  her  members  are  permitted  to  mingle  in  the  gay- 
eties  of  the  world  in  a  manner  inconsistent  with  the  Chris- 
tian character,  and  particularly  to  frequent  theatrical 
amusements.  This  is  no  place,  of  course,  to  discuss  the 
question,  whether  they  do  so  more  than  those  who  are 
connected  with  the  different  denominations  around  them. 
We  can  only  say,  that  when  Churchmen  are  found  in  this 
situation  —  thus  bringing  discredit  on  their  profession  — 
it  is  in  utter  violation  of  the  rules  of  the  Church,  and  at 
variance  with  the  spirit  she  endeavors  to  inculcate  upon 
them  by  every  one  of  her  services,  from  the  comprehen- 
sive Baptismal  Vow,  even  to  that  last  solemn  prayer  in 
the  Visitation  of  the  Sick,  which  commends  the  departing 
soul  to  the  mercy  of  its  God.  As  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
sense  of  the  Church  on  this  point,  we  can  give  the  highest 
authority  —  that  of  the  House  of  Bishops  in  General  Con- 
vention. It  stands  thus  recorded  on  their  Journal : 

"  Tuesday,  May  ¥lih,  1817.  Resolved,  That  the  fol- 
lowing be  entered  on  the  Journal  of  this  House  and  bo 
sent  to  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies,  to  be  read 
therein : 

"  The  House  of  Bishops,  solicitous  for  the  preservation 
of  the  purity  of  the  Church,  and  the  piety  of  its  members, 
are  induced  to  impress  upon  the  Clergy  the  important 
duty,  with  a  discreet  but  earnest  zeal,  of  warning  the 
people  of  their  respective  cures,  of  the  danger  of  an  indul- 


80  THE   L  EXT  EX   FAST. 

Church  has  decided  that  her  children  must  retire, 
in  a  peculiar  manner,  from  this  world,  to  think 
of  that  which  is  to  come.  Such,  for  instance,  is 
the  week  which  precedes  the  administration  of 
the  Holy  Communion.  It  is  with  reference  to 
this,  that  her  ministers  are  commanded,  "  to  give 

gence  in  those  worldly  pleasures  which  may  tend  to  with- 
draw the  affections  from  s]»i ritual  things.  And  especially 
on  the  subject  of  gaming,  of  amusements  involving  cruelty 
to  the  brute  creation,  and  of  theatrical  rejn'escnt(ft!<ntx*  to 
which  some  peculiar  circumstances  have  called  their  atten- 
tion—  they  do  not  hesitate  to  express  their  unanimous 
opinion,  that  these  atnHxcmwits,  as  well  from  tin  ir  licen- 
tious tendency,  as  from  the  strong  t<  m/>tati<nn*  f<>  vice 
'ir/ilc/i  they  <"(//<>/•</,  o mjlit  not  to  be  freqiti  iitnl.  And  the 
Bishops  can  not  refrain  from  expressing  their  deep  regret 
at  the  information  that  in  some  of  our  large  cities  so  little 
respect  is  paid  to  the  feelings  of  the  members  of  the  Church, 
that  theatrical  representat ions  are  fixed  lor  the  evenings 
of  her  most  solemn  Festivals." — Jour,  of  Gen.  Con.  1817, 
page  46. 

Any  one  acquainted  with  the  regular  steps  of  degrada- 
tion through  which  the  theatre  has  passed  during  the  last 
twenty-live  years,  will  acknowledge  that  if  it  had  "a 
licentious  tendency"  in  1817,  that  demorali/ing  influence 
is  doubly  powerful  in  this  day.  Let  not  then  occasional 
in  consistencies  of  members  of  the  Church  —  inconsistencies, 
we  believe,  becoming  each  year  more  rare  —  be  brought 
forward  as  any  illustration  of  the  spirit  of  the  Cluuvh. 
These  are  the  exceptions,  and  their  conduct  is  looked  upon 
by  their  fellow  members  with  sorrow  and  shame. 


ITS  PROPER  OBSERVANCE.  81 

warning  for  its  celebration  upon  the  Sunday  or 
some  holy  clay  immediately  preceding."  And 
at  the  same  time  it  is  made  their  duty  to  their 
hearers,  "to  exhort  them  in  the  mean  season,  so 
to  search  and  examine  their  own  consciences, 
that  they  may  come  holy  and  clean  to  such  a 
heavenly  feast,  in  the  marriage  garment  required 
by  God  in  Holy  Scripture,  and  be  received  as 
worthy  partakers  of  that  holy  table."  Now 
unless  this  appeal  is  a  mere  formality,  and  means 
nothing,  surely  we  are  expected  in  the  interval 
to  prepare  ourselves  for  uniting  in  that  solemn 
mystery,  and  no  one  needs  this  preparation  more 
than  the  individual  who  loves  this  world  so  well 
that  he  finds  it  hard  to  obey  the  injunction.  But 
is  this  to  be  done,  amidst  the  bustle  and  excite- 
ment of  worldly  pleasure  ?  No  —  it  is  not  there 
that  God  is  accustomed  to  meet  us,  with  the 
influences  of  His  grace,  or  the  rich  aids  of  His 
Spirit.  Let  us  not  then  endeavor,  thus  to  mingle 
earth  with  Heaven,  or  to  come  to  our  Master's 
solemn  feast  with  thoughts  distracted  by  frivolity 
and  amusement.  Let  us  walk  entirely  as  "  chil- 
dren of  the  light,"  or  not  attempt  to  worship  at 
the  altars  both  of  Christ  and  Belial. 


82  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

Sucli  a  season,  again,  is  that  of  Lent.  Listen 
to  the  tones  of  earnest  repentance  which  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Church  breathe  forth,  and  then  say, 
whether  after  giving  utterance  to  these,  we  can 
rush  at  once  into  the  embraces  of  a  world,  from 
which  we  have  just  prayed  to  be  delivered.  But 
are  there  any,  who  feel  that  six  weeks  is  too  long 
a  time  to  withdraw  from  earthly  pleasures? 
What  —  we  would  ask  in  reply  —  what  must  be 
the  state  of  that  spirit — what  its  preparation  for 
Heaven  —  in  which  such  thoughts  could  be  en- 
tertained ?  This  cleaving  to  the  objects  of  our 
earthly  worship  —  this  miserable  hankering  after 
pleasures  we  profess  to  have  abandoned  —  pro- 
claim but  too  clearly  a  self-deceived  heart,  still 
unbaptized  by  the  Spirit  from  on  high.  Such  an 
one  has  reason  to  fear,  lest  the  day  of  solemn 
trial  find  him  without  the  wedding  garment. 
When  at  this  season  then,  God  calls  to  "  weeping 
and  mourning,"  shall  it  be  said  of  us,  "  behold, 
joy  and  gladness  ?  " 

SELF-EXAMINATION  is  another  obvious  duty 
which  we  must  perform  during  the  period  of 
Lent.  This  naturally  follows  from  what  has 
been  already  advanced.  If  we  withdraw  from 


ITS   PROPER   OBSERVANCE  83 

the  world,  it  is  not  that  we  may  spend  our 
time  in  listless  idleness,  but  that  we  may  employ 
ourselves  in  girding  up  our  loins  anew,  and  trim- 
ming our  lamps,  to  be  ready  for  our  Lord's 
appearing.  It  is  tliat  we  may  "  commune  with 
our  own  hearts  and  be  still."  It  is,  that  we 
may  review  the  past,  and  as  we  compare  our 
actions  with  the  law  of  God,  decide  whether  or 
not  we  are  walking  in  the  way  of  His  command- 
ments. 

And  who  that  knows  the  deceitfulness  of  the 
human  heart  —  who  that  has  ever  read  our  Mas- 
ter's repeated  warnings  that  we  should  "  watch" 
-  will  say  that  this  is  unnecessary !  We  go 
forth  to  the  world,  with  our  decision  made  to 
serve  the  Lord,  and  our  Christian  hopes  burning 
brightly ;  but  as  one  day  after  another  passes  by, 
insensibly  we  lose  the  simplicity  of  our  religious 
character,  and  become  at  last  "  of  the  earth 
earthly,"  before  we  even  suspect  that  we  have 
departed  from  the  fervor  of  our  earliest  love. 
"  The  gold  becomes  dim,  and  the  fine  gold 
changed."  Our  thoughts  are  drawn  off  from 
our  Master  and  his  cause,  until  the  excitements 
and  allurements  which  are  around  produce  their 


84  TUT]   LEXTEX   FAST. 

natural  result,  and  we  begin  to  be  -willing  to  take 
our  portion  with  tliose  wliom  we  had  professed 
to  leave.  We  learn  to  persuade  ourselves,  to 
yield  in  things  which  a  more  tender  conscience 

i/  O 

would  Lave  taught  us  to  refuse,  until  our  service* 
becomes  partial  and  worldly,  and  we  are  no 
longer  heartily  devoted  to  the  Lord. 

Now,  how  many  thus  pass  through  life  ?  At 
times,  the  monitor  within  utters  its  voice,  and 
they  are  forced  to  doubt,  whether  or  not  they 
are  in  the  faith.  Yet  they  at  once  dispel  these 
disagreeable  thoughts.  From  a  natural  indolence 
of  disposition,  they  shrink  from  the  task  of  inv  *- 
tigating  their  own  hearts.  They  seem  willing 
to  live  along,  trusting  that  it  may  in  the  end  be 
well  with  them.  They  postpone  to  the  last  day, 
the  decision  of  the  most  solemn  question  this 
world  can  furnish,  although  then  it  will  be  too 
late  to  rectify  an  error.  Is  it  not  therefore  well 
for  us,  at  times  to  stop  in  our  worldly  career, 
and  settle  this  point?  Many  are  the  lessons  of 
solemn  caution  which  our  Master  gave,  to  guard 
against  this  very  danger.  The  rich  man  who 
thought  not  of  death  —  the  servants  who  ate 
and  drank,  but  remembered  not  their  Lord's 


ITS   PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  85 

return  —  and  the  virgins  who  slept  when  the 
-r  bridegroom  was  at  hand,  and  then  awoke  only 
to  bitter  disappointment  —  are  all  set  forth  for 
our  warning.  And  how  miserable  would  be  our 
state,  should  the  summons  thus  be  heard  when 
we  expect  it  not,  and  then  for  the  first  time  the 
full  consciousness  burst  upon  us,  that  we  have 
been  deceiving  our  own  hearts,  and  serving  the 
world !  Let  us  therefore  watch  and  examine 
ourselves,  that  as  time  passes  by,  there  may  grow 
no  rust  upon  our  souls,  and  no  habitual  sin  darken 
the  mirror  on  which  the  pure  light  of  Heaven 
should  be  reflected.  Let  us  not,  when  once  we 
have  girded  on  our  armor,  lay  it  aside  or  be 
found  sleeping  at  our  post.  In  the  solemn  day 
of  our  Master's  appearing,  when  "  all  kindreds  of 
the  earth  wail  because  of  Him,"  let  us  be  found 
arnonsr  those  chosen  ones,  whom  the  Church 

O  / 

has  gathered  into  her  fold,  trained  in  every  holy 
work,  and  purified  for  her  Lord,  that  they  might 
be  found  ready  when  His  marriage  hour  should 
come. 

There  is  one  more  way,  by  which  we  should 
p-jculiarly  mark  this  season  as  one  of  penitence — • 
it  is  by  FASTING.  On  the  morning  of  Ash-Wed- 


86  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

nesday,  we  prostrate  ourselves  before  our  God 
and  say  —  "  Be  favorable,  O  Lord,  be  favorable 
to  thy  people,  who  turn  to  Thee  in  weeping, 
fasting  and  praying."  And  yet  by  how  many, 
have  we  not  reason  to  fear,  are  these  words 
uttered,  who  shrink  from  the  Christian  duty  of 
which  they  speak!  It  is  much  more  easy  to 
offer  unto  God  the  tribute  of  our  lips,  than  to 
christen  and  discipline  the  body.  We  believe  it 
is  for  this  reason,  that  in  these  days  when  men 
seek  their  own  comfort,  this  practice  which  has 
prevailed  through  all  ages  of  the  Jewish  and 
Christian  Churches,  has  fallen  so  much  into 
disuse. 

Yet  take  up  the  word  of  God,  and  what  duty 
is  spoken  of  more  decidedly,  or  the  performance 
of  which  is  more  frequently  followed  by  a  bless- 
ing !  Joshua  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  when  de- 
feated by  the  men  of  Ai,  kept  a  solemn  fast,  as 
they  remained  all,  day,  "  until  the  even-tide," 
prostrate  on  the  earth  before  the  ark,  with  dust 
upon  their  heads,  in  humiliation  and  prayer. 
And  the  result  was,  that  victory  again  attended 
them.  David  fasted  as  well  as  prayed,  when  he 
humbled  himself  before  God  after  his  sin  against 


ITS  PROPER  OBSERVANCE.  87 

Uriah,  and  although,  deprived  of  his  child,  yet  his 
iniquity  was  forgiven.  The  inhabitants  of  Nine- 
veh, in  fear  of  judgments  obeyed  the  decree  of 
their  King,  when  he  proclaimed  —  "  Let  neither 
man  nor  beast,  herd  nor  flock,  taste  any  thing ; 
let  them  not  feed  nor  drink  water ;  but  let  man 
and  beast  be  covered  with  sackcloth,  and  cry 
mightily  unto  God  " — and  their  city  was  spared. 
The  devoted  Ezra,  when  setting  out  for  Jerusa- 
lem, assembled  the  returning  captives  at  the  river 
Ahava,  and  there  "  proclaimed  a  fast,  that  they 
might  afflict  themselves  before  God,  and  seek  of 
Him  a  right  way  for  themselves  and  their  little 
ones,  and  for  all  their  substance  "  —  and  he  ob- 
tained the  blessing  he  asked.  And  thus  we 
might  go  through  the  Old  Testament,  and  show 
that  on  every  important  occasion,  the  ancient 
saints  under  the  former  dispensation  not  only 
prayed  but  fasted  also. 

And  so  it  continued  to  be,  when  the  Gospel 
dawned  upon  the  earth.  Anna  was  "  serving 
God  with  fastings  and  prayers,  night  and  day,1' 
when  her  petition  was  answered,  and  she  saw  her 
Saviour.  Our  Lord  himself,  before  he  entered  on 
His  public  ministry,  passed  through  a  long  period 


88  THE   LENTEN"   FAST. 

of  preparatory  fasting.  The  Apostles  did  so, 
before  every  solemn  act  in  which  they  engaged. 
They  were  "  in  fastings  often."  St.  Paul  fre- 
quently refers  to  the  use  of  this  means  of  grace. 
He  declares,  that  he  "  approves  himself  a  minister 
of  God,"  as  in  other  things,  so  "  in  fastings  also ;" 
and  lie  writes  to  the  Corinthians  —  "  Give  your- 
selves to  fasting  and  prayer."  Cornelius,  "the 
devout  centurion,"  was  engaged  in  fasting,  when 
the  angel  announced  to  him,  that  his  alms  and 
prayers  had  "come  up  for  a  memorial  before 
God."  St.  Peter  was  fasting,  when  that  wonder- 
ful vision  revealed  to  him  the  admission  of  the 
Gentiles  into  the  Church  of  God,  and  commis- 
sioned him  to  be  to  them,  the  earliest  herald  of 
the  Gospel.  The  Church  at  Antioch  was  fasting, 
when  the  Holy  Ghost  said,  "separate  me  Barna- 
bas and  Saul." 

Neither  can  it  be  argued,  that  this  was  not 
expressly  commanded  by  our  Lord.  He  found 
the  practice  in  use,  arid  spake  of  it  as  one  which 
should  be  continued.  He  gave  directions  to  Hi 9 
disciples,  how  they  ought  to  fast,  and  promised 
that  they  should  be  recompensed  for  the  right 
performance  of  this  duty.  "  But  thou,  when  tliou 


ITS   PROrRR   OBSERVANCE.  89 

fastest,  anoint  thine  head,  and  wash  thy  fare ; 
that  tliou  appear  not  unto  men  to  fast,  but  unto 
thy  Father  which  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father 
which  seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  thee  openly." 
Well  therefore  has  Hooker  remarked  —  "Our 
Lord  and  Saviour  would  not  teach  the  manner 
of  doing,  much  less  propose  a  reward  for  doing, 
that  which  were  not  both  holy  and  acceptable 
in  God's  sight."9  But  our  Master  also  expressly 
declared,  that  after  His  departure  His  children 
in  sorrow  for  his  absence,  should  thus  afflict 
themselves.  "  The  days  will  come,  when  the 
bridegroom  shall  be  taken  from  them,  and  then 
shall  they  fast."  Does  not  this  clearly  prove  the 
truth,  that  He  considered  it  as  a  duty  ? 

What  again,  we  would  ask,  means  that  declar- 
ation of  His,  with  respect  to  the  faith  which 
could  remove  mountains  ?  "  Howbeit  this  kind 
goeth  not  out,  but  by  prayer  and  fasting."  Do 
not  these  words  imply,  that  there  are  nobler 
attainments  in  the  Christian  life  to  be  gained  by 
those,  who  through  severity  to  themselves  are 
able  to  strive  after  them?  And  do  they  not 
\>oint  out,  "  the  unseen  strength "  of  fasting  as 

9  Ecdes.  Polity,  b.  v.,  sec.  72. 


9G  T1TK   LENTEN"   FAST. 

that  which  is  to  enable  the  Christian  warrior  to 
win  the  brightest  crown?  Yes,  this  is  t]  at 
"  more  excellent  way"  which  is  opened  to  those 
"  who  will  receive  it." 

And  this  was  the  light  in  which  the  early 
Cliurch  regarded  this  duty.  In  those  days,  when 
tiny  stood  near  to  their  Lord,  and  walked  in 
Hid  hallowed  footsteps,  how  often  is  this  practice 
mentioned  as  one,  whose  value  the  Church  fully 
appreciated  !  Thus  St.  Chrysostom  says :  - 
"  Though  at  other  times  when  we  preachers  cry 
up  and  preach  the  duty  of  fasting  never  so  much 
all  the  year,  scarce  any  one  hearkens  to  what  we 
say,  yet  when  the  season  of  forty  days  is  come, 
though  none  exhort  or  advise  them,  the  most 
negligent  set  themselves  to  it,  taking  admonition 
and  advice  from  the  very  season.10  And  again 
he  adds — "  If  a  Jew  or  a  Heathen  ask  you,  why 
do  you  fast  ?  Do  not  tell  him,  it  is  for  our 
Saviour's  Passion  on  the  cross ;  for  so  you  will 
give  him  an  handle  to  accuse  you.  For  we  do 
not  fast  for  the  Passion  or  the  Cross,  but  for  our 
sins,  because  we  are  come  to  the  Holy  Mysteries. 
The  Passion  is  not  the  occasion  of  fasting  or 

10  ST.  CIIKYS.,  torn,  v.,  Horn.  52,  p.  709. 


ITS  PROPER  OBSERVANCE.  9j 

mourning,  but  of  joy  and  exultation.  We  mourn 
not  for  tli at,  but  for  our  sins,  and  therefore  we 
fast." 

The  manner  too  of  their  fasting  in  those  ancient 
days,  shows  how  thoroughly  they  desired  to 
fulfill  this  duty.  Instead  of  considering  a  change 
of  food  only  as  being  sufficient,  they  entirely 
abstained  from  all  sustenance  through  the  whole 
day  until  the  evening.  Thus  we  find  St.  Am- 
brose, in  one  of  his  exhortations  to  his  hearers 
to  observe  the  Lent  Fast,  bidding  them — "  defer 
eating  a  little,  because  the  end  of  the  day  is  not 
far  off."11  St.  Chrysostoin  in  his  Lent  sermons 
frequently  alludes  to  the  same  circumstance. 
"  Let  us  "  —  he  says  —  "  set  a  guard  upon  our 
ears,  our  tongues,  and  minds,  and  not  think  that 
bare  fasting  till  the  evening  is  sufficient  for  our 
salvation."12  And  again  in  another  passage, 
which  we  cannot  forbear  quoting  entire,  on 
account  of  the  admirable  view  which  it  gives 
of  this  whole  duty. 

"  The  true  fast  is  abstinence  from  vices.  For 
abstinence  from  meat  was  appointed  upon  this 

11  BING.  Orig.  Eccles.,  lib.  xxi.,  chap.  1,  sec.  16. 

12  ST.  CIJUYS.,  torn  ii.,  Horn.  4,  in  Gen.,  p.  37. 


92  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

occasion,  that  we  should  curb  the  tone  of  oui 
flesh,  and  make  the  horse  obedient  to  his  rider. 
He  that  fasts,  ought  above  all  things  to  bridle 
•his  anger,  and  learn  meekness  and  clemency,  to 
have  a  contrite  heart,  to  banish  the  thoughts  of 
all  inordinate  desires,  to  set  the  watchful  eye  of 
God  before  his  eyes,  and  his  uncorrupted  judg- 
ment ;  to  set  himself  above  riches,  and  exercise 
great  liberality  in  giving  of  alms,  and  to  expel 
every  evil  thought  against  his  neighbor  out  of 
his  soul.  This  is  the  true  fast.  Therefore  let 
this  be  our  care,  and  let  us  not  imagine,  as  many 
do,  that  we  have  fasted  rightly,  when  we  have 
abstained  from  eating  until  evening.  This  is  not 
the  thing  required  of  us,  but  that  together  with 
our  abstinence  from  meat,  we  should  abstain 
from  those  things  that  hurt  the  soul,  and  dili- 
gently exercise  ourselves  in  things  of  a  spiritual 
nature/'18 

Yet  we  must  not  forget,  in  considering  their 
manner  of  fasting,  that  an  Asiatic  climate  ren- 
dered comparatively  easy  what  to  us  would  q>- 
pear  to  be  an  excessive  severity.  The  lassitude 
of  constitution,  and  languor  of  the  whole  system, 

18  ST.  CIIKYS.,  Hum.  8,  hi  Gen.,  p.  79. 


ITS  PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  93 

which  were  produced  by  that  genial  temperature, 
enabled  them  to  carry  it  to  an  extent,  which  in 
this  latitude,  or  among  the  nations  of  Northern 
Europe,  would  be  oppressive,  and  totally  defeat 
the  object  for  which  it  was  undertaken. 

Even  in  that  day,  however,  this  duty  was  per- 
formed with  great  allowance  to  human  infirmi- 
ties ;  thus  showing  plainly,  that  instead  of  being 
made  a  superstitious  form,  it  was  used  with  refer- 
ence to  its  spiritual  benefits.  "  Let  no  one  "  — 
says  St.  Chrysostorn  —  "  place  his  confidence  in 
fasting  only,  if  he  continue  in  his  sins  without 
reforming.  For  it  may  be,  one  that  fasts  not  at 
all,  may  obtain  pardon,  if  he  has  the  excuse  of 
bodily  infirmity.  But  he  that  does  not  correct 
his  sins,  can  have  no  excuse.  Thou  hast  not 
fasted  by  reason  of  the  weakness  of  thy  body; 
but  why  art  thou  not  reconciled  to  thy  enemies  ? 
Canst  thou  pretend  bodily  infirmity  here?  If 
thou  retainest  hatred  and  envy,  what  apology 
canst  thou  make  ?  In  such  crimes  as  these  thou 
canst  not  fly  to  the  refuge  of  bodily  weakness."14 
And  again,  in  another  Homily,  he  dwells  upon 
this  subject  still  more  fully.  "  If  thou  canst  not 

14  ST.  CIIIIYS.,  Horn.  22,  de  Ira,  torn,  i.,  p.  277. 


94  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

pass  all  the  clay  fasting,  "by  reason  of  bodily 
weakness,  no  wise  man  can  condemn  thee  for 
this.  For  we  have  a  kind  and  merciful  Lord, 
who  requires  nothing  of  us  above  our  strength. 
lie  neither  requires  abstinence  from  meat,  nor 
fasting  simply  of  us,  nor  that  for  this  end  we 
should  continue  without  eating  only ;  but  that 
withdrawing  ourselves  from  worldly  affairs,  we 
should  pass  all  our  leisure  time  in  spiritual  things. 
For  if  we  would  order  our  lives  soberly,  and  lay 
out  our  spare  hours  upon  spiritual  things,  and 
eat  only  so  much  as  we  had  need  of,  and  nature 
required,  and  spend  our  whole  lives  in  good 
works,  we  should  not  need  the  help  of  fasting. 
But  because  human  nature  is  negligent,  and 
gives  itself  rather  ease  and  pleasure,  therefore 
our  kind  Lord,  as  a  compassionate  Father,  hath 
found  out  this  medicine  of  fasting  for  us,  that  we 
should  abridge  ourselves  in  our  pleasures,  and 
transfer  our  care  of  secular  things  to  works  of  a 
spiritual  nature.  If  therefore  there  be  any  here 
present  who  are  hindered  by  bodily  infirmity, 
and  cannot  continue  all  day  fasting,  I  exhort 
them  to  have  regard  to  the  weakness  of  their 
bodies,  and  not  upon  that  account  deprive  them- 


ITS  PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  95 

selves  of  spiritual  instruction,  but  for  that  very 
reason  to  pay  more  diligent  attendance  on  it. 
For  there  are  many  ways  besides  abstinence 
from  meat,  which  will  open  to  us  the  door  of  con- 
fidence towards  God.  He  therefore  that  eats, 
and  cannot  fast,  let  him  give  the  more  plentiful 
alms,  let  him  be  more  fervent  in  his  pray  ere,  let 
him  show  the  greater  alacrity  and  readiness  in 
hearing  the  divine  oracles.  For  the  weakness 
of  the  body  is  no  impediment  in  such  offices  as 
these.  Let  him  be  reconciled  to  his  enemies,  and 
forget  injuries,  and  cast  all  thoughts  of  revenge 
out  of  his  mind.  He  that  does  these  things,  will 
show  forth  the  true  fasting,  which  the  Lord 
chiefly  requires.  Therefore  I  exhort  you  who 
are  able  to  fast,  to  go  on  with  all  possible  alacrity 
in  this  good  and  laudable  work,  for  by  how  much 
more  our  outward  man  perishes,  so  much  more 
our  inward  man  is  renewed."15 

And  the  same  rule  of  moderation  continues  to 
be  that  of  the  Church  in  our  day.  Caring  for 
the  bodily  as  well  as  the  spiritual  health  of  her 
members,  she  prescribes  only  such  a  degree  of 
fa  sting,  as  may  keep  our  lower  nature  in  subjec- 

15  ST.  CIIKYS.,  Horn.  10,  in  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  91. 


96  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

tion  to  tli at  which  is  spiritual.  Thus  we  are 
taught  to  pray  on  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent  — 
"  O  Lord,  who  for  our  sake  didst  fast  forty  days 
and  forty  nights ;  give  us  grace  to  use  such 
abstinence,  that  our  flesh  being  subdued  to  the 
Spirit,  we  may  ever  obey  Thy  godly  motions  in 
righteousness  and  true  holiness,  to  Thy  honor 
and  glory." 

We  would  also  observe,  that  united  with  this 
fast,  or  rather  flowing  from  it,  were  more  abun- 
dant deeds  of  charity.  What  they  saved  by  their 
abstinence  they  expended  on  the  poor.  Thus, 
we  find  an  Apostolic  Father  saying :  —  "  A  true 
fast  is  not  merely  to  keep  under  the  body,  but 
to  give  to  the  widow  or  the  poor,  the  amount 
of  that  which  thou  wouldst  have  expended  upon 
thyself;  that  so  he  who  receives  it  may  pray 
to  God  for  thee."16  Origen  says  —  "  lie  found  it 
in  some  book  as  a  noted  saying  of  the  Apostles, 
"  Blessed  is  he  who  fasts  for  this  end,  that  he 
may  feed  the  poor ;  this  man's  fast  is  acceptable 
unto  God."17  St.  Chrysostom,  in  the  extracts 
already  given,  alludes  to  this  duty,  and  at  a  later 

16  Hernias  Pastor,  in  COTEL.,  toin.  i.,  p.  106. 

17  BING.  Orig.  Eecles.,  lib.  xxi.,  ch.  1,  sec.  18. 


ITS   PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  97 

period,  we  find  St.  Augustine  writing — "  Fasting 
without  almsgiving,  is  a  lamp  without  oil." 

Such  then  is  the  argument  for  this  practice, 
drawn  from  Scripture,  and  also  the  manner  of 
its  performance  in  the  early  Church.  It  may  be 
thought  by  some,  that  too  great  a  space  has  been 
devoted  to  this  discussion ;  but  we  must  remem- 
ber, that  in  the  present  day,  there  is  probably  no 
duty  so  little  understood,  and  so  lightly  evaded. 
"  We  will  practice  mortification  and  self-denial 
for  learning's  sake,  but  not  for  Christ's.  We  will 
abstain  from  joys,  and  pleasures,  and  company, 
and  numberless  indulgences,  and  put  restraint 
even  on  our  loves,  when  ambition  calls,  but  not 
at  the  bidding  of  the  Church.  We  will  neglect 
our  health  and  rest,  and  become  worn  and  pale, 
and  weary  and  weak,  to  gain  earthly  wisdom, 
and  power  of  intellect,  and  shorten  our  lives  to 
leave  our  names  among  posterity  lifted  some  very 
little,  it  may  be,  above  the  obscurity  of  the  un- 
numbered dead.  But  to  smooth  doAvn  the  sever- 
ity of  discipline,  to  have  an  easy  Lent,  or  go 
softly  through  a  fast,  we  are  ready  to  talk  of  our 
health  and  habits,  and  way  of  living,  and  tli3 
hardness  of  our  duty,  and  the  weakness  of  our 

5 


98  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

flesh,  and  in  a  light  way  of  the  mercy  of  our 
God.  We  are  strong  to  do  all  things  for  our- 
selves, our  own  ambition  strengthening  us.  We 
are  weak  for  Christ,  even  though  He  be  ready 
to  give  us  strength.''18  And  it  is,  we  believe, 
because  this  duty  is  so  little  practised  as  a  regu 
lar  habit,  that  its  benefits  are  so  undervalued. 
It  is  often  eagerly  commenced  in  a  fit  of  transient 
zeal,  but  the  natural  inclinations  raise  their 
remonstrance — it  is  found  wearisome  and  painful 
—  and  after  one  or  two  attempts  entirely  laid 
aside.  But  is  it  not  true,  that  this  is  scarcely 
giving  it  a  trial?  To  be  appreciated,  and  its 
benefits  felt,  it  must  be  a  habit  —  be  practised 
often  —  and  become,  as  it  were,  a  portion  of  our 
regular  religious  service.  Thus,  that  which  at 
first  was  performed  with  difficulty,  is  rendered 
easy;1'  and  we  learn  at  last,  that  the  ancient 

18  FABEB'S  tracts  on  the  Offices  of  the  Church. 

19  GOETHE  somewhere  makes  a  remark,  which  may  be 
applied  to  the  whole 'circle  of  our  religious  duties:  "  Nei- 
ther in  moral  or  religious,  more  than  in  physical  and  civil 
matters,   do   people   willingly   do   any   thing  suddenly  or 
upon  the  instant;  they  need  a  succession  of  the  like  act  ions, 
whereby  a  habit  may  be  formed;  the  things  which  they  are 
to  love,  or  to  perform,  they  cannot  conceive  as  insulated 
and  detached;  whatever  ice  are  to  rejxct  <rith  satisfaction^ 
must  not  have  become  foreign  /<>  -us." 


ITS  PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  99 

saints  in  Primitive  days,  knew  human  nature 
better  than  we  do,  and  when  they  urged  those 
who  should  come  after  them,  to  "crucify  the 
flesh  "  as  a  source  of  spiritual  benefits,  were  only 
giving  the  result  of  their  own  experience. 

This  then  is  that  discipline,  by  whose  severity 
we  are  to  weaken  the  force  of  passion,  and  of 
those  appetites  which  else  assert  the  mastery 
over  the  soul,  and  bind  it  down  to  earth.  "  I 
keep  under  my  body" — says  St.  Paul  —  u  and 
bring  it  into  subjection :  lest  that  by  any  means 
when  I  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should 
be  a  cast  away."  And  St.  Chrysostom  declares 
—  "  Fasting  restrains  the  body,  and  checks  and 
bridles  its  inordinate  sallies,  but  makes  the  soul 
much  lighter,  and  gives  it  wings  to  mount  up 
and  soar  on  high."20  It  teaches  too,  the  habit  of 
self-denial  —  leading  us  at  intervals  to  remember 
that  our  object  in  this  life  is  not  to  please  our- 
selves, but  rather  to  overcome  temptation  —  to 
restrain  and  mortify  the  cravings  of  appetite. 
Thus  we  conquer  that  self-indulgence,  which  if 
permitted  unfits  us  for  spiritual  duties.21  And 

20  ST.  CHRYS.  Horn.  10,  in  Gen.,  torn,  ii,  p.  91. 

21  "  It  is  a  most  miserable  state  for  a  man  to  ha\  e  every 


100  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

how  forcibly  also  does  it  cause  us  to  realize 
things  unseen  and  eternal !  It  is  an  act  so  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  of  this  world,  that  it  brings  at 
once  before  us  the  truth,  that  here  is  not  our 
home.  All  religious  feelings  therefore  are  kin- 
dled up,  and  our  habits  of  prayer  and  devotion 
are  quickened  into  exercise.  And  in  this  active, 
busy  age,  when  outward  excitement  has  taken 
the  place  of  earnest,  holy  contemplation,  how 
necessary  becomes  any  discipline,  which  can  tiros 
withdraw  us  from  the  things  of  time  and  sense  ! 
By  its  means  we  gather  strength  for  the  conflict 
yet  before  us,  in  which  "  we  wrestle  not  against 
flesh  and  blood,"  but  our  enemies  are  those 
mighty  spirits  who  once  bore  a  nobler  nature 
than  our  own  —  "  powers  which  erst  in  Heaven 
sat  on  thrones"  -and  who  still,  in  their  dark 
apostacy,  retain  for  the  accomplishment  of  evil, 
the  same  radiant  intellects,  with  which  they  were 
gifted  for  the  service  of  God.  We  come  forth 
from  our  retirement,  more  subdued  and  chastened 


tiling  according  to  his  desire,  and  quietly  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  life.  There  needs  no  more  to  expose  him  to 
eternal  misery." — Bishop  WILSON,  /Sacra  Private.  Wed- 
nesday. 


ITS  PROPER  OBSERVANCE.  101 

in  spirit — -with  a  calm  and  abiding  consciousness, 
that  we  must  be  the  true  followers  of  "the  man 
of  sorrows."  Then,  like  His  servants  of  old,  to 
whom  revelations  came  in  the  hours  of  holy  ab- 
stinence, we  are  better  prepared  to  listen  to  the 
voice  of  God  —  our  own  prayers  go  up  more 
earnestly  to  His  throne  —  and  our  affections  are 
crucified  to  a  world  which  is  fast  fleeting  away. 
Therefore  it  was,  that  when  the  Church  was 
reformed  from  the  corruptions  of  Kome,  fasting 
was  still  prescribed  "  to  discipline  the  flesh,  to  free 
the  spirit,  and  render  it  more  earnest  and  fervent 
to  prayer,  and  as  a  testimony  and  witness  with 
us  before  God  of  our  humble  submission  to  His 
High  Majesty,  when  we  confess  our  sins  unto 
Him,  and  are  inwardly  touched  with  sorrowful- 
ness of  heart,  bewailing  the  same  in  the  affliction 
of  our  bodies."22  There  is  therefore,  as  much 
truth  as  poetry  in  the  exhortation — 

"  Deem  not  such  penance  hard — thence  from  the  soul 
The  chords  of  flesh  are  loos' d,  and  earthly  woes 

Lose  half  their  power  to  harm;  while  self-control 
Learns  that  blest  freedom,  which  she  only  knows."88 

22  First  part  of  the  Homily  on  Fasting. 

23  The,  Cathedral. 


102  THE  LENTEN   FAST. 

Thus  it  is  then  that  we  may  keep  this  Holy 
Season  —  by  withdrawing  from  the  world  —  by 
self-examination — by  prayer  and  fasting — so  that 
when  it  has  passed,  we  shall  find  that  we  have 
gained  new  strength  for  our  onward  course. 
And  how  strong  the  argument  to  do  so,  as  one 
year  after  another  goes  silently  by,  and  we  press 
forward  to  the  grave !  Now  indeed  is  our  re- 
ward nearer  than  when  first  we  believed.  Now 
is  the  bridegroom  with  some  of  us,  almost  at 
hand.  Soon  we  shall  hear  that  warning  cry, 
which  will  startle  even  the  slumbering  from  their 
dreams,  and  then  His  train  will  sweep  along,  and 
the  glorious  band  of  the  Elect  who  are  with  Him, 
go  in  to  the  marriage.  But  does  each  season,  as 
it  thus  bears  us  nearer  to  the  tomb,  carry  us  also 
nearer  to  Heaven?  Are  we  ready  for  that  sum- 
mons, with  our  account  made  up,  and  so  living  in 
watchfulness  that  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man 
can  not  surprise  us  ?  Are  we  numbered  with 
those  "  little  ones "  whose  "  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  our  Heavenly  Father,"  and 
whom  the  Church,  by  the  quiet  influence  of  her 
rites  and  services,  is  diligently  training  up  for 
immortality  ?  When  this  decaying  life  is  over, 


ITS   PROPER   OBSERVANCE.  103 

and  we  are  waiting  in  silence  that  stroke  which 
dismisses  the  spirit  to  its  Judge,  shall  we  be  able 
to  feel,  as  we  review  our  days,  that  we  have 
availed  ourselves  of  all  the  opportunities  our 
Master  afforded,  of  preparing  for  that  solemn 
crisis?  Life  with  each  one  of  us  must  be  em- 
ployed, in  becoming  meet  for  the  recompense  of 
the  just,  and  in  gathering  spoils  for  Eternity. 
This  is  the  only  true  use  of  existence  here,  and 
thus  only  can  it  be  something  more  than  an 
empty  dream.  It  must  be  a  life,  spent  in  looking 
forward  to  its  close,  and  in  preparing  diligently 
for  that  solemn  change  which  is  to  pass  upon  all 
men— 

"  Tjfc  that  shall  send 

2V  challenge  to  its  end, 

And  when  it  conies,  say  '  Welcome,  friend.' " 


THE  WEEK-DAY  PRAYERS  IN  LENT,, 


Could  ye  not  watch  one  hour ! 
Be  ready !  or  the  bridal  train 

And  bridegroom,  with  His  dower 
May  sweep  along  in  vain. 
Miserere  mei ! 

COXE'S  "  Christiwii 


III. 

THE  WEEK-DAY  PEAYEES  IN  LENT. 


"  WHAT  !  could  ye  not  watch  with  me  one 
hour?"  was  on  a  certain  occasion  the  appeal 
made  to  some  of  the  disciples  of  our  Master. 
And  how  solemnly  must  it  have  sounded  in  the 
ears  of  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed !  The 
Person  from  whom  it  came — the  time — the  place 
in  which  it  was  uttered  —  all  united  to  invest  it 
with  emphasis.  The  Person  was  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  time  was  when  His  career  on  earth 
was  just  closing,  and  the  morrow  was  to  behold 
Him  stretched  upon  the  Cross.  The  place  was 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  the  very  name  of 
which  awakens  in  our  minds,  tbe  remembrance 
of  those  fearful  sorrows  even  unto  death,  of  our 
suffering  Lord. 

We  are  told,  that  on  that  last  night,  after  H^ 


108  THE    LENTEN   FAST. 

liad  instituted  the  sacred  rite  which  was  through 
all  ages,  both  to  keep  alive  in  the  minds  of  His 
people,  the  k'  perpetual  memory  of  His  precious 
deatli  and  sacrifice  until  His  coming  again,"  and 
also  to  be  their  "  spiritual  food  and  sustenance," 
He  delivered  His  final  instructions  to  the  disci- 
ples, and  then  once  more  solemnly  commended 
them  to  the  care  of  His  Father  who  is  in  Heaven. 
This  was  the  concluding  scene  of  His  ministry, 
and  He  therefore  prepared  Himself  for  the  death 
which  was  at  hand.  Taking  Peter,  and  James,  and 
John,  He  went  forth  to  the  Garden,  and  "  began 
to  be  sorrowful  and  very  heavy.  Then  saith  He 
unto  them,  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even 
unto  death ;  tarry  ye  here,  and  watch  with  me. 
And  He  went  a  little  further,  and  fell  on  His 
face,  and  prayed."  And,  oh  !  how  fearful  was  the 
conflict  of  spirit  which  He  then  endured,  when 
the  terrors  of  the  death  He  was  about  to  suilrr, 
were  arrayed  before  His  mind,  and  His  human 
nature  was  forced  to  shrink  back  from  the  view  ! 
Listen  to  the  earnest  words  of  His  petition,  as 
amid  the  darkness  of  the  night,  He  prostrated 
Himself  upon  the  ground :  "  Father,  all  things 
are  possible  unto  Thee ;  take  away  this  cup  from 


T1IK    WKKK-DAY    PRAYERS.  109 

me :  nevertheless,  not  what  I  will,  but  what  thou 
wilt."  And  then,  "  being  in  an  agony,  He  prayed 
more  earnestly;  and  His  sweat  was  as  it  were 
great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground." 
It  was  when  this  prayer  was  ended  —  when  he 
had  poured  out  His  soul  to  God,  and.  been 
strengthened  by  an  angel  for  His  approaching 
trial,  that  returning  to  His  disciples,  He  found 
them  asleep,  and  awoke  them  with  the  mournful 
appeal  —  "  What !  could  ye  not  watch  with  me 
one  hour  ? "' 

And  we  think  that  our  Lord  might  address 
this  same  touching  inquiry  to  many  among  us, 
who  in  this  day  profess  His  name.  There  is  too, 
in  some  respects,  a  degree  of  analogy  between 
our  situation,  and  that  of  the  disciples  who  first 
listened  to  these  words.  We  also  are  looking 
foi'ward  to  that  sacrifice  on  the  Cross,  the  cele- 
bration of  which  will  soon  arrive.  At  this  solemn 
season,  we  are — or  ought  to  be — endeavoring  by 
prayer,  and  weeping,  and  fasting,  to  prepare  our 
hearts  for  uniting  in  its  commemoration.  And 
to  aid  us  in  this  work,  the  Church  has  appointed 
peculiar  services,  well  adapted  to  lead  our 
thoughts  away  from  the  things  of  this  world,  to 


lif)  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

co  itemplate  the  mysteries  of  redemption.  During 
eiu  h  week  in  the  season  of  Lent,  in  accordance 
wivh  her  regulations,  the  House  of  God  is  open, 
that  his  children  may  meet,  and  turn  unto  Him 
wi1h  that  appropriate  petition  —  "Create  and 
make  in  us  new  and  contrite  hearts,  that  we, 
worthily  lamenting  our  sins,  and  acknowledging 
our  wretchedness,  may  obtain  of  Thee,  the  God 
of  all  mercy,  perfect  remission  and  forgiveness, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."1 

Tb's  then,  is  the  most  solemn  period  of  our 
Eccle  iastical  year,  whether  we  look  at  the  nature 
of  th'>;  services  in  which  we  are  invited  to  join, 
or  th'\t  mysterious  event  to  which  we  are  con- 
stantly pointed  forward.  And  yet,  how  seldom 
do  ex  en  those  who  "  profess  and  call  themselves 
Christians,"  embrace  as  fully  as  they  ought,  these 
opportunities  of  communing  with  God  in  His 
holy  temple !  How  frequently,  when  the  sanc- 
tuary each  week  opens  its  doors,  and  invites  them 
to  break  off  for  a  brief  period  from  the  bustle 
and  engrossing  cares  of  the  world,  do  they  permit 
the  most  trivial  excuse  to  prevent  them  from 
answering  to  the  call !  May  not  our  Lord  then 

1  Collect  for  AslWWediiesday. 


THE   WEEK-DAY  PHATERS.  HI 

say  to  many  among  us,  as  He  did  to  His  disciples 
of  old,  in  a  tone  of  mingled  sorrow  and  reproach 
— "  What !  could  ye  not  watch  with  me  one 
hour ! " 

Let  us  then  briefly  look  at  some  of  the  motives 
which  should  induce  every  Christian  to  avail 
himself  of  the  week-day  services  of  the  Church 
during  this  period. 

THE  SEASON  ITSELF  presents  its  earnest  appeal. 
When  God  delivered  the  law  upon  Sinai,  the 
people  of  Israel  were  commanded  for  three  days 
before,  to  sanctify  themselves,  that  they  might 
be  prepared  to  behold,  even  from  a  distance,  the 
glory  of  Jehovah,  as  the  mountain  was  wreathed 
with  clouds,  and  "  quaked  greatly,  because  the 
Lord  descended  upon  it  in  fire."  When  there- 
fore we  are  called  upon  to  approach  that  more 
wonderful  mountain,  on  which,  by  the  tears  and 
blood  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God,  was  wrought 
out  the  sublime  mystery  of  man's  redemption, 
should  we  not  be  earnest  to  put  away  from  us 
our  earthliness  of  feeliog,  and  to  purify  our  hearts 
in  anticipation  of  that  solemn  scene  ?  Yes,  as  the 
time  draws  near,  when  we  are  to  be  led  to  the 
Cross  —  to  contemplate  the  Passion  and  bitte* 


112  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

agonies  of  our  Lord  —  and  to  behold  Him  dying 
for  our  salvation,  it  seems  but  proper,  that  we 
should  undergo  some  additional  preparation  of 
heart.  We  should  not  rush  at  once  from  the 
tumult  of  this  noisy  world,  to  the  foot  of  Calvary. 
"When  still  far  distant,  we  should  veil  our  heads, 
and  put  our  shoes  from  off  our  feet,  realizing 
that  we  are  on  holy  ground.  As  we  slowly  ap- 
proach that  spot,  to  which  even  angels  would 
look  with  intense  emotion,  a  holy  fear  should  fall 
upon  us,  and  in  the  depth  of  our  souls  we  should 
meditate  upon  the  solemn  scene  which  is  to  be 
unfolded  to  our  view. 

Is  it  then  asking  too  much,  if  during  the  brief 
period  of  these  forty  days  we  are  invited  to  as- 
semble in  the  house  of  God  twice  in  each  week, 
for  a  short  time  to  think  of  our  dying  Saviour, 
and  to  bewail  the  sins  which  brought  Him  to  the 
Cross  ?  Is  there  not  an  evident  propriety  in  that 
regulation,  commenced  even  in  Primitive  times, 
by  which  Wednesday,  (the  day  on  which  the 
Jews  took  counsel  to  betray  our  Lord,)  and  Fri- 
day, (the  day  of  his  death,)  are  devoted  to  affec- 
tionate remembrance  of  Him,  and  humiliation 


THE   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  113 

for  ourselves  22  Did  He  suffer  in  agony  for  our 
transgressions,  and  yet,  shall  we  think  so  lightly 
of  them,  that  wre  will  not  "  rend  our  hearts,"  and 
pray  God  to  blot  out  our  guilt  \  Can  we,  while 
pursuing  this  course,  realize  as  we  should,  the 
exceeding  depth  of  our  degradation?  Can  we 
truly  estimate,  from  how  fearful  a  woe  we  have 
been  delivered,  when  we  will  not  look  to  our 
Lord  on  the  Cross,  or  remember  how  terrible 
were  the  sufferings  which  then  crushed  His  human 

o 

nature  ? 

This  indeed  is  a  subject  which  appeals  most 
plainly  to  our  reason.  Is  there  not  every  thing 
in  the  services,  and  the  hallowed  recollections  of 
this  period,  to  induce  us  to  humble  ourselves  in 
the  dust  of  abasement  before  God  —  to  seek 
pardon  for  the  past,  and  strength  for  the  future  ? 
Should  not  every  principle  of  gratitude  to  our 
Lord  cause  us  to  go  gladly  to  the  temple  with 

2  St.  Austin  says — "  This  reason  may  be  given,  why  the 
Church  fasts  chiefly  on  the  fourth  and  sixth  days  of  the 
week,  because  it  appears  upon  considering  the  Gospel,  that 
on  the  fourth  day,  which  we  commonly  call  Feria  Quarta, 
the  Jews  took  counsel  to  kill  our  Lord,  and  on  the  sixth 
day  our  Lord  suffered.  For  which  reason  the  sixth  day 
is  rightly  appointed  a  fast." — BLNG.  Orig.  JSccles.,  lib.  xxi., 
chap.  3,  sec.  2. 


11.4  THE   LKNTKN   FAST. 

those  that  keep  holy  day?  Should  oar  puLlic 
worship  be  confined  to  the  Sunday;  or  should  we 
not  endeavor,  by  practice  as  well  as  by  words, 
to  show  our  concurrence  in  that  sentence  of  the 
Te  Deum  which  we  so  often  repeat  —  "  Day  by 
day  we  magnify  Thee ! "  When  therefore  all 
these  appeals  call  forth  no  response  from  the 
hearts  of  our  Lord's  professed  followers,  may  He 
not  say  to  them  —  u  c  What !  could  ye  not  watch 
with  me  one  hour  ? '  with  me,  who  for  your  sake 
became  '  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with 
grief  —  with  me,  who  was  4  brought  as  a  lamb 
to  the  slaughter,'  that  you  might  live  ?  Must  I 
disrobe  myself  of  my  Heavenly  glory,  and  come 
to  this  earth  of  suffering  and  woe,  and  pass  a 
weary  pilgrimage  of  thirty  years,  and  yet,  my 
children  not  be  able  to  watch  one  single  hour,  to 
prepare  their  hearts  to  think  upon  my  sacrifice  ? 
Did  I  endure  the  crown  of  thorns  —  the  scoffs  of 
men  —  the  malefactor's  shame  —  and  the  agony 
of  the  Cross  —  and  yet,  are  not  those  who  reap 
the  benefit  of  my  sufferings  able  to  endure  a 
single  hour  of  communion  with  me  —  one  single 
hour  of  watchfulness  and  prayer  ? " 

Again  -  -  by    attendance    on    the    weok-day 


THE  WEEK-DAT  PRAYERS.  115 

prayers,  we  are  in  some  degree  FOLLOWING  THE 

EXAMPLE    SET    US    BY   THE    PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANS. 

In  the  ancient  Church,  there  were  religious 
assemblies  for  prayer  and  preaching  every  day 
through  the  whole  season  of  Lent.  "I  can  not 
affirm  "  —  says  Bingham  —  "  that  it  was  so  in 
every  Parochial  Church  and  country  village,  but 
that  it  was  so  in  the  greater  or  Cathedral  Churches, 
is  evident  from  undeniable  proofs  and  matter  of 
fact."3 

The  Homilies  of  St.  Chrysostom  upon  Genesis, 
from  which  we  have  already  so  often  quoted, 
were  sermons  preached  in  this  manner,  day  after 
day,  as  is  evident  from  many  allusions  they  con- 
tain. Take,  for  example,  a  single  passage  in  one 
of  them  —  "  This  is  not  the  only  thing  that  is 
required,  that  we  should  meet  here  every  day, 
and  hear  sermons  continually,  and  fast  the  whole 
Lent.  For  if  we  gain  nothing  by  these  continual 
meetings  and  exhortations  and  seasons  of  fasting 
to  the  advantage  of  our  souls,  they  will  not  only 
do  us  no  good,  but  be  the  occasion  of  a  severer 
condemnation.  If  after  so  much  care  and  pains 
bestowed  upon  us,  we  continue  the  same ;  if  the 

3  Orig.-Eccles.*  lib.  xxi,  chap.  1,  sec.  20. 


THE   LENTEN  FAST. 


angry  man  does  not  become  meek,  and  the  pas- 
sionate mild  and  gentle  ;  if  the  envious  does  not 
reduce  himself  to  a  friendly  temper  ;  nor  the  cov- 
etous man  depart  from  his  madness  and  fury  in 
the  pursuit  of  riches,  and  give  himself  to  alms- 
deeds  and  feeding  the  poor;  if  the  intemperate 
man  does  not  become  chaste  and  sober,  and  the 
vainglorious  learn  to  despise  false  honor,  and 
seek  for  that  which  is  true  ;  if  he  that  is  negli- 
gent of  charity  to  his  neighbor,  does  not  stir  up 
himself,  and  endeavor  not  only  not  to  come  be- 
hind the  Publicans,  (who  love  those  that  love 
them,)  but  also  to  look  friendly  upon  his  enemies, 
and  exercise  all  acts  of  charity  towards  them  ; 
if  we  do  not  conquer  these  affections,  and  all 
othei's  that  spring  up  from  our  natural  corrup- 
tion ;  though  we  assemble  here  every  day,  and 
enjoy  continual  preaching  and  teaching,  and 
have  the  assistance  of  fasting  ;  what  pardon  can 
we  expect,  what  apology  shall  we  make  for  our- 
selves?"4 

Thus  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Church,  in  her 
primitive  and  holier  days,  by  constantly  recurring 
periods  of  devotion,  gradually  to  build  up  her 

4  ST.  CIIRYS.  Horn.  11,  in  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  107. 


THE  WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  117 

children  in  the  faith,  and  in  a  ripeness  of 
Christian  character.  Then,  she  so  often  called 
them  to  prayer,  that  the  world  had  no  opportu- 
nity of  enlisting  their  affections,  or  leading  them 
from  the  truth.  They  were  forced  to  walk,  "  as 
seeing  Him  who  is  invisible."  They  devoted  to 
intercourse  with  Heaven,  and  to  communing  with 
their  own  hearts  before  God,  times  which  in  this 
worldly  age  men  could  not  bear  to  have  snatched 
from  secular  employments.  They  were  not 
contented  with  coming  to  their  Lord's  temple  on 
the  first  day  of  each  week  alone,  but  they  sanc- 
tified the  hours  of  every  day  with  devotion. 
Look,  for  instance,  at  what  were  called  in  the 
early  Church,  "  the  Canonical  hours  of  Prayer,"5 

5  The  subject  of  the  daily  services  in  the  early  Church 
deserves  a  brief  notice,  because  in  this  day  reference  is 
often  made  to  "  the  seven  Canonical  hours  of  public  prayer 
in  the  Primitive  Church,"  when  in  fact,  no  such  seasons 
were  known  at  that  time.  The  appointed  periods  for  daily 
prayer  were  probably  three  in  number.  One  of  the  writers 
of  the  Oxford  "  Tracts  for  the  Times,"  (who  certainly 
would  not  be  inclined  to  diminish  these  services  of  the 
early  Church,)  says  "  the  Jewish  observance  of  the  third, 
sixth,  and  ninth  hours  for  prayer,  was  continued  by  the 
inspired  founders  of  the  Christian  Church.  (No.  75,  on. 
the  J3reviari/.)  This  also  was  Wheatley's  view,  ( On 
Common  Prayer,  p.  84.)  As  late  as  the  time  of  St.  Chry- 


118  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

by  which  without  interfering'  with  the 
of  this  world,  she  regularly  called  her  members  to 
remember  the  solemn  realities  of  the  world  whicli 
is  to  come,  and  trained  them  up  systematically 

sostom,  there  is  no  mention  in  any  writer  of  more  than 
these  three  periods.  Thus  in  one  place  this  Father  repre- 
sents an  individual  as  complaining,  "  How  is  it  possible  for 
me,  who  am  a  secular  man,  and  confined  to  the  courts  of 
law,  to  run  to  Church,  and  pray  at  the  three  hours  of  the 
day?"  To  which  St.  Chrysostom  answers,  "that  if  he 
could  not  come  to  Church,  because  he  was  so  fettered  to 
the  Court,  yet  he  might  pray  even  as  he  stood  there." 
(Horn.  4,  de  Anna,  torn.  \\.,p.  995.)  Tertullian  also  inci- 
dentally alludes  to  "  tertia  hora,  et  sexta,  et  nona,"  as  the 
usual  ones  of  public  prayer  (de  Jejun.,  cop.  10.) 

The  multiplication  of  these  services  began  in  the  Eastern 
Monasteries,  among  those  who  were  cut  off  from  secular 
life,  and  whose  time  was  entirely  given  up  to  devotion. 
In  this  way,  these  appointed  seasons  were  gradually  ex- 
panded into  what  were  called  "the  Seven  Canonical  Hours 
of  Prayer."  Yet  even  in  the  fourth  century,  writers  who 
refer  to  the  Six  or  Seven  hours  of  prayer,  speak  of  the 
observance  of  the  Monks  only,  and  not  of  the  whole  body 
of  the  Church.  Such  is  the  case  frequently  in  St.  Jerome's 
works.  From  this  beginning,  these  services  were  in  latter 
ages  easily  introduced  into  the  principal  Churches.  We 
believe  therefore,  that  our  own  Church,  with  the  arrange- 
ment for  daily  morning  and  evening  prayers,  is  much 
nearer  the  model  of  Primitive  times,  than  those  who 
increased  those  services  to  Seven  (See  BINT.IIAM,  lib.  xiii., 
ch.  9,  sec.  8.) 

We  refer  here  to  the  public  services,  for  with  regard  to 


THE   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS  119 

for  Heaven.  "  Unwavering,  unflagging,  not 
urged  by  fits  and  starts,  not  heralding  forth  their 
feelings,  but  resolutely,  simply,  perse veringly, 
day  after  day,  Sunday  and  week-day,  fast  day 
and  festival,  week  by  wreek,  season  by  season, 
year  by  year,  in  youth  and  in  age,  through  a  life, 
thirty  years,  forty  years,  fifty  years,  in  prelude 
of  the  everlasting  chant  before  the  Throne  —  so 
they  went  on,  c  continuing  instant  in  prayer, 
after  the  pattern  of  Psalmists  and  Apostles,  in 
the  day  with  David,  in  the  night  with  Paul  and 
Silas,  winter  and  summer,  in  heat  and  in  cold,  in 
peace  and  in  danger,  in  a  prison  or  in  a  cathe- 
dral, in  the  dark,  in  the  day-break,  at  sun-rising, 
in  the  forenoon,  at  noon,  in  the  afternoon,  at  even- 
tide, and  on  going  to  rest,  still  they  had  Christ 
before  them;  His  thought  in  their  minds,  His 
emblems  in  their  eye,  His  name  in  their  mouths, 
His  service  in  their  postures,  magnifying  Him 
and  calling  on  all  that  lives  to  magnify  Him, 
joining  with  Angels  in  Heaven  and  Saints  in 

the  private  devotions  of  the  members  of  the  Church  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  the  vivid  picture  given  by  Mi*. 
Newman  in  the  extract  quoted  above,  is  but  a  faithful 
view  of  their  ordinary  customs. 


120  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

Paradise  to  bless  and  praise  Him  forever  and 
ever.6  It  was  this  noble  system  which  raised  the 
early  Church  to  that  height  of  holiness,  and  en- 
abled her  to  present  her  followers,  as  visibly 
crucified  to  the  world. 

But  how  different  at  this  day  is  the  spirit 
which  prevails !  The  services  of  the  sanctuary 
are  looked  upon  too  often,  as  being  merely  ad- 
dressed to  the  intellect.  We  come  to  it,  too 
much  to  listen  to  the  preaching,  and  too  little  to 
commune  with  our  God.  We  forget,  that  there 
it  is  man  holds  audience  with  the  Deity.  The 
consequence  is,  that  wrhile  our  Churches  can  be 
filled  to  listen  merely  to  a  human  teacher,  on 
prayer  days  there  are  but  few  scattered  here  and 
there,  who  feel  the  wish  to  abase  themselves 
before  God.7  And  the  reason  of  this  is  evident. 
It  is  easy  for  individuals,  to  sit  in  their  seats,  and 


6  NEWMAN'S  lectures  on  Justification,  p.  387. 

7  An   old   writer   quaintly   says — "To   imagine   that 
prayers  at  home  will  be  as  acceptable  to  God,  as  those 
made  in  the  Church  with  our  brethren,  is  as  if  one  should 
have  fancied,  that  the  incense  of  the  Temple  (which  was  a 
compound  of  several  precious  n'uius,)  made  no  other  pci- 
fume  than  the  spices  would  have  done  had  they  been  burnt 
one  by  one." — (Bishop  PATRICK  on  /Y</t//r/-,  p.  '-'17.) 


TUB   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  121 

listen  to  the  voice  of  the  preacher.  He  is  "  unto 
them  as  a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a 
pleasant  voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instru- 
ment." His  sentences  fall  upon  the  ear,  and  it 
is  a  pleasant  excitement,  to  have  the  intellect 
arouse  cl,  and  the  imagination  addressed,  but  it  is 
not  easy  to  pray.  It  requires  effort  to  command 
the  wandering  thoughts  —  to  shut  out  an  intru- 
sive world  —  to  keep  the  mind  intently  fixed  on 
God  —  and  to  kneel  before  him  with  a  calm,  col- 
lected, and  awakened  soul.  To  have  the  con- 
tinual spirit  of  prayer,  is  not  shown  by  now  and 
then  sending  up  glowing  petitions  to  Heaven, 
when  the  mind  is  for  a  time  excited.  It  is  some- 
thing far  different  from  these  paroxysms  of  devo- 
tion. It  is  to  come  daily  before  God,  in  a  solemn, 
serious  frame,  realizing  that  He  "  readeth  our 
thoughts,  and  trieth  our  hearts,"  and  that  "  His 
saints  and  angels,"8  even  "  a  great  cloud  of  wit- 

8  The  Apostle  Paul,  when  declaring  (1  Cor.  xi.  10,) 
that  a  woman  should  cover  her  head  in  time  of  Prayer, 
"  because  of  the  Angels,"  certainly  seems  to  intimate,  that 
at  such  times  these  heavenly  visitants  are  about  us.  So 
at  least  this  passage  was  looked  upon  by  the  ancient 
Christians,  and  it  gave  them  great  encouragement  to  attend 
upon  the  public  Prayers.  The  same  idea  is  curiously 


122  THE   LEXTEX   FAST. 

nesses  compass  us  about.'1  This  therefore  is  the 
very  discipline  we  need,  and  by  which  the  Church 
endeavors  to  have  wrought  into  our  souls,  the 
spirit  of  holiness. 

There  is  indeed  a  subduing  influence  in  Prayer, 
which  a  careless  world  seems  never  to  know. 
The  very  sound  of  "  the  Church-going  bell," 
speaks  to  the  heart,  and  recalls  us  from  our 
earthly  feelings.  As  its  solemn  tones  fall  upon 
the  ear,  they  seem  like  a  voice  from  eternity, 
telling  us  of  realities,  while  we  wander  in  a  world 
of  shadows.  Beautiful  therefore  was  that  super- 
stition of  the  Middle  Ages,  which  ascribed  to 
them  the  power  of  driving  far  off  the  Evil  Spirits 
which  gather  about  the  path  of  man,  to  tempt 
him  to  sin.  As  the  deep  sound  of  the  evening 
bell  was  heard  upon  the  breeze,  and  the  sweet 
tones  of  the  Vesper  Hymn  floated  indistinctly  to 

stated  by  Origen  in  his  comments  on  those  words  of  the 
Psalmist — "  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about 
them  that  fear  Him."  "  It  is  probable  "—says  lie—"  that 
when  many  are  assembled  together  sincerely  to  the  glory 
of  Christ,  the  angel  of  every  one  of  them  there  pit  diet  h 
his  tent,  together  with  him  who  is  committed  to  his  charge 
and  custody;  so  as  to  make  a  double  Church,  where  the 
saints  are  gathered  together;  one  Church  of  men,  and 
another  Church  of  angels." 


THE   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  123 

the  traveler's  ear,  his  "heart  was  strengthened 
within  him,  and  he  felt,  that  here  at  least,  where 
that  holy  sound  came,  spiritual  enemies  had  no 
power.  Yet  not  entirely  was  this  a  superstition. 
The  wild  legends  which  embody  it  teach  also  a 
deep  moral  to  the  thoughtful  mind,  and  one 
which  a  Poet  of  our  own  hath  set  forth,  arrayed 
in  all  that  beauty  with  which  genius  can  invest 
the  truth. 

I  have  read  in  the  marvelous  heart  of  man, 

That  strange  and  mystic  scroll, 
That  an  army  of  phantoms,  vast  and  wan, 

Beleaguer  the  human  soul. 

Encamped  beside  Life's  rushing  stream, 

In  Fancy's  misty  light, 
Gigantic  shapes  and  shadows  gleam 

Portentous  through  the  night. 

But  when  the  solemn  and  deep  Church  bell, 

Entreats  the  soul  to  pray, 
The  midnight  phantoms  feel  the  spell, 

The  shadows  sweep  away. 

Down  the  broad  Yale  of  Tears  afar, 

The  spectral  camp  is  fled ; 
Faith  shineth  as  a  morning  star, 

Our  ghastly  fears  are  dead.9 

How  wise  then  is  that  provision  of  the  Church, 

9  LONGFELLOW'S  Beleaguered  City. 


124  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

by  which  she  calls  us  to  these  oft-recurring 
prayers !  She  wishes  thus,  to  render  us  "  meet 
to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints 
in  light."  It  is  for  this  reason  too,  that  she  so 
frequently  in  her  Calendar  commemorates  the 
holy  dead,  who  have  already  entered  into  their 
rest.  Contracted  indeed  is  the  view  of  this  sub- 
ject which  so  many  take,  when  they  inquire. 
Why  should  we  pay  this  reverence  to  "  men  of 
like  passions  with  ourselves  ? "  And  yet  do  not 
these  compose  that  "  noble  army,"  which  gathers 
around  the  Christian  pilgrim  as  he  travels  on- 
ward, and  whom  he  may  well  remember  as  his 
bright  examples?  Is  it  not  right  therefore,  as 
the  year  rolls  round,  that  one  by  one  they  should 
meet  him  in  the  services  of  the  Church,  that  he 
may  thus  be  enabled  to  think  of  their  self-deny- 
ing  labors,  their  holy  lives,  and  their  patient 
sufferings  ?  The  Church  in  this  is  but  following 
the  example  of  St.  Paul,  when  in  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  he  sum- 
mons up,  as  with  a  trumpet's  voice,  name  after 
name  of  those  departed  worthies  who  had  long 
gone  to  their  reward.  And  since  his  day,  ho\v 
gloriously  has  the  list  been  extended,  as  the 


THE  WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  125 

Gospel  dispensation  presents  its  holy  array  of 
apostles,  and  saints,  and  just  men  made  perfect, 
until  the  long  and  bright  procession  passes  before 
us,  stirring  our  hearts  up  to  a  holy  emulation. 

But  their  example  is  not  all.  It  is  thus  that 
we  are  reminded  also  of  the  dignity  of  our  war- 
fare. The  Christian  is  too  apt,  in  times  of  de- 
pression, to  feel  himself  a  solitary,  and  it  may  be, 
a  derided  traveler.  He  looks  upon  himself  as 
standing  isolated  in  a  hostile  world.  These  ser- 
vices then  are  like  a  chain,  which  connects  him 
with  the  holy  dead  who  have  gone  before.  He 
finds,  that  he  has  inherited  his  privileges  from 
martyrs  and  confessors — from  kings  of  the  earth, 
its  princes,  and  its  judges,  who  in  their  generation 
"  fought  the  good  fight,"  and  then  were  gathered 
into  the  Paradise  of  God.  His  feelings  of  lone- 
liness pass  away.  He  realizes,  that  he  is  one  of 
a  great  company,  which  embraces  in  its  ranks  all 
that  is  pure  and  dignified  in  the  universe,  and 
his  heart  rejoices  in  "  the  communion  of  saints."1' 

10  "The  thought  of  the  dead  makes  us  gentle  and  child- 
like, and  leads  us  to  forget  ourselves,  as  well  it  may.  For 
know  that  according  to  St.  Paul's  teaching  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect  are  not  far  from  us.  We  are  come 


126  THE   LENTEN"  FAST. 

"  Thus,  though  oft  depressed  and  lonely, 

All  his  fears  are  laid  aside, 
If  he  but  remembers  only 

Such  as  these  have  lived  and  died." 

And  here,  we  can  not  forbear  quoting  from  one 
of  the  most  admirable  works  of  this  generation— 
the  only  one  we  know  giving  the  portraiture  of 
a  Christian  family — a  passage  showing  the  man- 
ner in  which  these  Festivals  can  be  profitably 
observed.  "  For  example,  I  take  up  the  charac- 
ter of  St.  Peter  for  my  especial  meditation,  which 
most  probably,  but  for  this  notice  of  it  by  the 
Church,  I  never  should  have  done;  at  least,  I 
should  have  rested  content  with  the  vague,  tran- 
sitory, and  unpractical  notions  suggested  in  the 
course  of  turning  over,  amid  a  multitude  of  others 

to  them,  and  they  are  come  to  us.  They  can  touch  us, 
and  we  can  touch  them;  they  are  gliding  by  every  hour. 
The  spirit  has  but  ceased  to  act  upon  and  through  the 
body,  and  so  we  do  not  see  them  in  their  places.  They 
keep  threading  in  and  out  among  us,  going  up  and  down, 
and  moving  round  about  us;  especially,  so  we  believe  from 
St.  John,  in  holy  Churches  where  their  bodies  rest  in  hope. 
(Rev.  vi.)  They  are  the  first  ranks  of  the  Church,  who 
have  gone  before  us  in  the  Lord,  so  far  as  to  be  out  oi 
sight.  They  are  beyond  our  view.  They  may  see  us;  we 
can  not  see  them." — FABER'S  Tracts  on  the  Offices  of  the 
Ch  urch. 


THE   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  127 

in  Scripture,  the  passages  wliich  relate  to  him. 
But  now  I  turn  it  in  every  possible  light,  refer  to 
the  minutest  incident,  analyzing  and  composing, 
till  I  frame  to  myself  an  adequate  conception  of 
his  character.  I  then  examine  myself  by  it,  and 
review  his  ardent  and  courageous  spirit  till  I  im- 
bibe some  portion  of  it  myself,  and  discuss  his 
temporary  fall  till  I  arrive  at  a  wholesome  fear 
of  my  own  weakness;  and  on  coming  to  his 
restoration,  so  completely  do  I  feel  identified 
with  him,  I  rejoice  and  glorify  his  blessed  Master, 
and  my  own,  as  if  I  had  been  restored  together 
with  him.  And,  last  of  all,  I  look  intently  upon 
that  death,  which  according  to  his  Master's  pre- 
diction he  underwent,  and  prepare  myself  also 
to  take  up  the  Cross  of  my  Lord,  and  fear  Him, 
and  not  man.  All  these  thoughts  may  have 
passed  through  my  mind  often  before ;  but  it  was 
in  a  floating,  undirected,  unpractical  mass,  and 
not  arranged  as  now,  in  clusters,  under  suitable 
heads,  tending  to  one  definite  end,  and  by  the 
point  given  to  them,  leaving  their  impression  dis- 
tinct and  deep,  both  on  memory  and  feelings. 
Besides,  by  thus  steadily  following  one  train,  I 
am  led  at  last,  to  ideas  on  the  subject,  and  com 


128  THE   LENTEX   FAST. 

filiations  of  ideas  which,  had  never  before  pre- 
sented themselves;  and  I  experience  with  the 
increase  of  rny  spiritual  knowledge  an  accession 
also  of  mental  wealth.  At  a  due  interval  arrives 
another  festival,  the  centre  of  attraction  to  an- 
other class  of  thoughts,  which  had  else  been  too 
loose  and  vague  to  produce  any  impression ;  these 
too  I  fix  in  permanence.  In  this  manner  I  am 
carried  round  the  year ;  my  views  grow  clearer, 
my  resolutions  more  firm ;  such  days  are  to  me 
indeed  holy  days ;  in  them  I  find  a  secure  repose 
for  my  thoughts  from  the  vulgar  turmoil  of  the 
world  around,  to  which  I  return  at  least  refreshed, 
and  I  hope  I  may  add,  improved."11 

The  Church,  it  is  true,  in  these  services  offers 
us  no  excitement.  She  never  teaches  that  glowing 
devotion,  (or  what  is  miscalled  devotion,)  which 
on  Sunday  lifts  its  possessor  up  to  the  very  gates 
of  Heaven,  yet  during  the  week  is  never  visible 
in  his  conduct.  Her  aim  is  to  instruct  us  in  a 
sober,  constant,  and  Scriptural  piety.  She  cm- 
ploys  no  spiritual  whirl  wind  now  and  then  to 
sweep  over  her,  which  when  it  has  subsided, 
leaves  her  children  during  the  reniuinder  of  the 

11  Rectory  of  Vale/iead,  p.  54. 


THE  WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  129 

year,  to  sink  back  again  to  a  death-like  coldness, 
"but  she  goes  on  the  even  tenor  of  her  way, 
steadily  building  them  up  in  a  knowledge  of  the 
faith.  Neither  indeed  does  she  present  us  with 
any  novelties,  for  the  prayers  and  praises  in  which 
we  unite,  have  been  heard  in  her  services  a  long 
time,  some  of  them  for  more  than  fourteen  cen- 
turies.12 They  are  a  precious  legacy,  bequeathed 
to  us  by  ages  which  have  gone.  They  are  "  the 
form  of  sound  words"  which  our  fathers  used, 
and  with  which  the  dead  in  Christ  were  accus- 
tomed to  worship  a  thousand  }ears  ago.  Thus 
it  is,  that  her  voice  is  lifted  up  through  all  the 
changing  year,  and  we  are  but  prolonging  that 
anthem  of  praise,  which  has  always  been  heard 
in  her  courts.  The  very  words  we  utter,  carry 
us  back  to  days  when  the  faith  of  the  Church 
was  purified  by  suffering.  They  connect  us  in 


12  For  instance,  the  prayer  of  St.  Chrysostom,  at  the 
close  of  the  service.  Also,  the  Doxologies,  the  Trisagion 
or  cherubical  hymn,  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  &c.,  and  the  Mag- 
nificat. The  Te  Deum  has  been  generally  ascribed  to  St. 
Ambrose,  although  some  learned  men  have  disputed  this. 
For  a  particular  account  of  the  most  noted  hymns  in  use 
in  the  service  of  the  ancient  Church,  see  BINGHAM'S  Orig 
Ecdes.,  lib.,  xiv.,  chap.  2. 


130  THE   LKXTEN   FAST. 

thought  and  Spirit  with  those  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy,  who  have  long  since  passed 
away  to  their  reward. 

Again  - — another  reason  why  every  Christian 
should  avail  himself  of  these  services  is,  THAT  ILE 

MAY    DRAW  DOWN    A  BLESSING    UPON    HIS  ClIUECH. 

We  meet  at  such  times,  to  humble  ourselves  not 
merely  as  individuals,  but  also  as  a  Church.  In 
this  respect,  we  have  surely  much  to  bewail  for 
the  time  that  is  gone.  Like  Israel  of  old,  we  too 
may  "  remember  our  ways,  and  be  ashamed." 
Compared  with  the  opportunities  placed  in  our 
hand,  how  little  have  we  done  as  a  Church,  to 
advance  the  cause  of  pure  and  un denied  religion ! 
With  thousands  in  our  o\vn  hind  straying  into 
heresy  and  schism,  and  millions  on  the  wastes  of 
heathenism  "  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge," 
how  little  through  us  has  the  glad  news  of  our 
Redeemer's  sacrifice  been  published  through  the, 
earth,  or  the  sweet  incense  of  His  name  been 
borne  to  the  hearts  of  the  dying !  Have  we  not 
sins  then  as  a  Church  to  confess?  And  when 
can  \ve  more  appropriately  remember  these  our 
deficiencies,  than  when  we  are  preparing  to  cele- 
brate that  sacrifice,  around  which  are  gathered 


THE   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  131 

our  own  hopes  of  eternal  life,  and  wliicli  was  in- 
tended to  bring  salvation  to  all  who  will  avail 
themselves  of  its  benefits  ! 

If  we  wish  tl  en,  that  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
the  Gospel  should  not  be  held  back  through  any 
fault  of  ours,  is  it  not  well  that  we  should  call 
upon  God  for  strength  to  enable  us  to  fulfill  our 
recorded  vows,  and  to  realize  the  interest  which 
we  have  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  our  race? 
There  is  indeed  no  better  instrument  than  prayer, 
to  aid  the  progress  of  our  Master's  cause.  When 
we  look  over  the  world,  and  see  how  iniquity 
abounds,  and  the  love  of  many  waxes  cold,  we 
feel  at  times  tempted  to  despond  and  to  let  the 
conflict  go  on.  But  Scripture  teaches  us  a  differ- 
ent lesson  with  regard  to  the  power  of  prayer. 
St.  Paul  writes  to  the  Thessalonians — "  Brethren ! 
pray  for  us,  that  the  word  of  God  may  have  free 
course  and  be  glorified."  And  in  accordance  with 
this,  the  Church  directs  us  to  offer  up  petitions 
"  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men."  Sho 
even  instructs  us  to  pray  for  spiritual  blessings 
upon  ourselves,  only  that  they  may  be  imparted 
to  others  also.  The  language  of  her  Evening 
Anthem  is — "  God  be  merciful  unto  us,  and  bless 


132  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

us,  and  show  us  tlie  light  of  His  countenance 
and  be  merciful  unto  us."  And  why  ?  "  That 
Thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth,  Thy  saving 
health  among  all  nations."  We  find  then,  that 
we  also  as  a  Church  have,  in  this  respect  a  duty 
to  perform  with  regard  to  the  advancement  of 
our  faith. 

And  here  we  would  remark  more  particularly 
on  the  duty  of  presenting  our  petitions  to  God, 
for  those  who  attend  with  us  in  the  same  sanctu- 
ary. When  we  remember  how  often  the  Gospel 
is  proclaimed  in  our  Churches,  and  that  it  is 
God's  own  appointed  means  for  publishing  the 
truth,  we  can  not  but  ask,  Why  is  it  that  so  few 
receive  it  ?  Why  do  the  majority  of  those  who 
listen,  still  refuse  to  be  reconciled  to  our  Lord, 
or  be  numbered  with  his  followers  ?  Must  there 
not  be  guilt  resting  on  those  who  "  profess  and 
call  themselves  Christians,'1  that  they  do  not 
petition  Him  to  pour  out  upon  our  Chuivhes 
"  the  healthful  spirit  of  His  grace  ?  "  If  the  v<  >ice 
of  prayer  were  not  restrained,  we  should  witness 
no  spiritual  desolation,  but  "  God.  even  our  God, 
would  give  us  His  blessing."  Let  those  then  who 
believe  that  they  are  u  children  of  the  light  and 


THE   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  133 

of  the  clay,"  think  how  much  they  owe  to  the 
love  of  Him  who  hath  called  them  to  His  service. 
Who  made  them  to  differ  from  the  thousands 
around,  who  are  still  seeking  to  draw  comfort 
from  this  vain  world,  and  wasting  their  strength 
in  pursuit  of  its  fleeting  shadows  ?  Who  opened 
their  eyes  to  see  the  solemn  realities  of  eternity, 
and  put  a  new  song  in  their  mouth,  filling  them 
with  the  rich  comforts  of  His  grace  ?  Let  us 
think  too  of  the  state  of  those,  who  are  still  with- 
out the  ark  of  safety  —  How  blindly  they  are 
rushing  on  to  an  inheritance  of  woe — how  they 
are  standing  in  jeopardy  every  hour,  reckless  of 
the  storm  which  is  gathering  against  them — and 
our  sympathies  will  be  awakened  in  their  behalf. 
Then,  we  shall  need  no  other  inducement  to 
"watch  for  one  hour"  with  the  people  of  God, 
where  prayer  is  offered  up,  that  we  also  may 
present  that  appropriate  petition — "  Return,  we 
beseech  Thee,  O  God  of  hosts:  look  down  from 
Heaven,  and  behold,  and  visit  this  vine,  and  the 
vineyard  which  Thy  right  hand  hath  planted, 
and  the  branch  that  Thou  madest  strong  for 
Thyself." 

There  is  one  other  motive  which  pleads  with 


134 


THE   LENTEN   FAST. 


us,  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  solemnities  of  this 
Season.     It  is  the  truth,  THAT  WE  MAY  NOT  LIVE 

TO  SEE  AGAIN  THE   RETURN  OF  THIS  PERIOD  OF  OUR 

ECCLESIASTICAL  YEAR.    This  maybe  our  last  Lent 
on  earth,  to  herald  in  either  an  eternal  Festival 
in  Heaven,  or  to   be  but  the  prelude  to  that 
"  lamentation  and  mourning  and  woe,"  in  which 
the  desolate  spirit  can  look  forward  to  no  joyful 
Easter.     But  the  reflection,  that  life  is  passing 
rapidly  away,  and  that  its  continuance  is  uncer- 
tain, although  often  brought  before  us,  is  still  one 
which  to  most,  is  any  thing  but  familiar.     The 
remembrance  of  it,  as  a  fact,  exerts  but  little 
practical  influence  over  our  thoughts   and  our 
conduct.     We  acknowledge  it  as  a  general  truth, 
and  yet  silently  make  an  exception  in  our  own 
favor.     Let  us  endeavor  then,  to  bring  it  home 
to  our  own  hearts  and  consciences,  as  a  reality 
in  which  we  have  a  deep  and  fearful  interest. 
And  how  solemn  —  how  awakening  should  be 
the  effect  of  the  thought,  that  we  may  be  passing 
through  this  period  of  improvement  for  the  last 
time — that  when  the  next  year  the  people  of  the 
Lord  are  thus  summoned  to  come  up,  and  make, 
ready  for  the  celebration  of  Ills  Passion,  we  may 


THE   WEEK-DAY   PRAYERS.  135 

not  hear  the  call !  Then,  our  probation  may 
have  ended — our  account  be  sealed  up  against 
the  Great  Day  of  moral  retribution  —  and  our 
graves  in  the  quiet  Churchyard,  be  growing 
green  amidst  the  graves  of  our  kindred.  And 
yet,  this  is  possible  with  all  who  witness  the  ser- 
vices of  this  season,  and  certain  with  regard  to 
some.  It  would  be  strange  indeed,  if  even 
among  those  who  may  read  these  pages,  some 
should  not  be  borne  to  their  last  resting-place 
before  twelve  months  have  rolled  round.  Think 
of  those  who  at  this  time  last  year  sat  in  the 
same  seats  with  us  in  the  temple  of  God,  but 
who  have  now  departed  forever.  Can  not  mem- 
ory recall  the  images  of  some  who  have  since 
then  passed  from  our  own  little  circle  to  the 
silence  of  the  tomb,  and  whose  familiar  forms  and 
faces  we  shall  see  no  more,  until  that  mighty 
word  goes  forth,  which  heard  on  sea  and  land 
shall  call  up  the  dust  of  the  sepulchre  to  new 
life,  and  mould  it  again  into  its  ancient  shapes  ? 
Yes,  the  Destroyer  has  been  among  us,  since  last 
with  joy  we  sang  together  our  Easter  anthem. 
In  many  a  household  there  have  been  bitter 
lamentations  for  the  dead ;  and  a  vacant  seat  by 


136  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

the  hearth,  and  an  added  tombstone  in  the 
Churchyard  are  the  sole  earthly  memorials  of 
some,  who  in  the  weeks  of  the  last  year's  Lent 
were  often  found  in  the  house  of  God.  The  loved 
ones  are  not  all  here.  Smiles  of  affection  which 
once  were  ready  to  greet  us,  and  tones  which  fell 
like  music  on  our  ears,  have  faded  away  from  the 
earth.  The  dust  has  claimed  its  own,  and  our 
hearts  even  now  turn  in  sorrow  to  the  place  of 
graves,  where  the  dead  so  silently  await  our 
coming. 

And  of  whom  shall  this  history  next  l>e  writ- 
ten ?  Do  we  all  shrink  from  the  question,  and 
feel  we  can  not  bear  to  realize  that  this  may  be 
the  case  with  us  ?  Do  we  close  our  ears,  as  the 
solemn  tones  of  life's  curfew  bell  are  heard, 
warning  us  of  the  gathering  night  ?  Oh,  let  us 
remember,  that  we  have  no  exemption  from  this 
common  lot,  and  that  the  Master  may  come  in 
an  hour  when  we  look  not  for  Him.  With  the 
Hush  of  health  upon  the  cheek,  and  the  vigor  of 
manhood  in  the  limbs,  we  may  be  unconsciously 
treading  the  edge  of  the  crumbling  precipice, 
about  to  be  launched  into  Eternity. 


THE   WEKK-DAY   PRAYERS.  137 


Time  is  fleeting, 


And  our  hearts,  though  stout  and  brave, 
Still  like  muffled  drums  are  beating 
Funeral  inarches  to  the  grave.13 

Let  the  determination  then  be  strengthened 
within  us,  that  while  life  lasts,  we  will  neglect 
no  opportunity  of  making  ready  for  our  solemn 
change  —  that  if  it  should  be  decreed  in  the 
councils  of  Heaven,  that  we  shall  never  again  on 
earth  witness  this  interesting  season  in  the  Church, 
this  at  least  shall  not  be  neglected,  but  we  will 
repair  to  the  House  of  God,  there  to  pour  out 
our  souls  in  the  prayer  of  penitence  and  faith. 

Are  not  these  then  motives  enough  to  induce 
us  to  take  our  part  in  these  week-day  services  ? 
Methinks  our  Lord  is  thus  age  after  age,  even 
from  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  lifting  up  to  His 
faithful  followers  the  voice  alike  of  entreaty  and 
of  agony,  saying  unto  them  —  u  What !  could  ye 
not  watch  with  me  one  hour ! "  And  is  it  not 
our  business  here,  to  train  ourselves  for  the  cease- 
less worship  of  Heaven  ?  Are  we  then  gaining 
this  spirit  of  prayer  which  will  render  us  "  meet 
to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints 

18  LONGFELLOW'S  Psalm  of  Life.  , 


103  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

in  light  ? "  Let  us  examine  our  own  hearts,  and 
scrutinize  our  affections,  lest  we  may  be  deceived 
and  the  spirituality  and  holiness  of  the  Christian 
"be  still  wanting  in  our  breasts.  Neither  is  it  all 
that  is  necessary,  merely  to  be  bodily  present  in 
the  House  of  God,  for  we  may  at  the  same  time 
"  be  absent  in  spirit,"  and  thus  in  our  best  ser- 
vices be  accumulating  guilt.  He  whom  we  mock 
with  the  offering  of  the  lips  while  the  heart  is 
far  fj'om  Him,  will  say  to  us,  as  He  did  to  His 
ancient  people — "  The  calling  of  assemblies  I  can 
not  away  with :  it  is  iniquity,  even  the  solemn 
meeting."  The  world  therefore  must  be  shut 
out — the  spirit  of  devotion  must  be  with  us — or 
we  are  not  truly  watching  with  our  Lord. 

And  should  there  chance  to  rest  upon  these 
pages,  the  eye  of  any  one  who  does  not  profess 
to  be  a  disciple  of  our  once  suffering  but  now 
glorified  Master,  and  who  therefore  may  fed  dis- 
posed to  pass  by  this  appeal  as  being  in  his  case 
inapplicable,  we  would  address  to  him  also  a 
single  inquiry.  Have  you  no  need  of  prayer  — 
no  necessity  for  that  atonement  on  the  Cross,  to 
which  these  services  point  us  forward  ?  If  such 
are  your  feelings,  the  disclosures  of  a  coming  day 


THE  WEEK-DAY  PRAY.ERS.  139 

will  show,  that  you  have  been  the  victim  of  a 
fatal  delusion.  We  look  beyond  the  few  remain- 
ing days  of  this  fleeting  life  —  we  stand  with  our 
fellow  men  before  the  bar  of  God  —  we  behold 
u  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world "  —  but  what  is  the  condition  of  those, 
who  have  no  interest  in  his  Redemption  ?  For 
them  there  is  no  song  of  triumph  —  no  victor's 
crown.  They  are  arrayed  before  their  Judge  in 
speechless  despair.  The  neglected  opportunities 
of  earth  are  rising  in  their  memories,  and  they 
feel  that  they  would  give  the  universe,  were  it 
possible,  for  "  one  hour  "  of  that  probation  which 
once  they  trifled  away.  The  future  oilers  to  them 
no  gleam  of  hope,  but  shrinking  from  "  the  Great 
White  Throne,  and  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth 
thereon,"  they  commence  the  desolate  travel  of 
Eternity  —  lost  —  undone  forever. 

We  would  entreat  you  then,  O  restless  and 
disappointed  child  of  immortality  !  to  avail  your- 
self of  this  solemn  season,  when  all  things  invite 
you  to  thonghtfulness  and  prayer.  Turn  away 
from  this  decaying,  perishing  world,  whose  en- 
chantments only  mock  your  sight,  and  whose 
promised  blessings  fade  and  disappear  while  you 


140  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

seek  to  grasp  them,  and  gain  in  their  place,  "the 
peace  which  passeth  understanding"  -the  calm 
and  solid  happiness  which  our  faith  only  can  be- 
stow. It  is  to  be  found — not  in  feverish  and  vain 
desires — not  in  the  aspirings  of  wild  ambition— 
not  amid  the  rush  and  hurry  of  this  busy  life— 
but  in  the  whispers  of  an  approving  conscience, 
and  in  silent  communion  with  your  God.  Come 
then,  and  in  a  spirit  of  earnest  supplication,  pray 
Him  to  blot  out  the  dark  record  of  the  past,  am) 
to  strengthen  you  for  his  service  during  the  years 
which  may  yet  remain  to  you -on  earth.  Come, 
before  life  is  departing,  and  the  terror-stricken 
soul  seeks  in  vain  for  a  single  hour  in  which  to 
make  its  peace  with  Him.  Come,  before  t he- 
darkness  of  the  grave  gathers  around,  and  tbe 
despairing  cry  is  heard  —  "  Woe  unto  us !  for  the 
day  goeth  away,  for  the  shadows  of  the  evening 
are  stretched  out." 


GOOD  FRIDAY. 


Low  bow'd  Thy  Lead  convulsed,  and  droop' d  in  death, 

Thy  voice  sent  forth  a  sad  and  wailing  cry ; 
Slow  struggled  from  Thy  breast  the  parting  breath, 
And  every  limb  was  wrung  with  agony. 
That  head  whose  veil-less  blaze 
Filled  angels  with  amaze, 

\V  hen  at  that  voice  sprang  forth  the  rolling  suns  on  high. 

MILMAN'S  "  Hymn  to  the  Saviour." 


IV. 

GOOD  FBIDAY. 


"  AND  tliey  crucified  Him."  Simple  yet  solemn 
words !  telling  in  this  little  expression  of  the  most 
fearful  event  which  has  ever  taken  place  upon 
this  globe;  since  at  the  hour  of  its  first  creation 
"  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the 
sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy,"  as  they  joined  in 
that  glorious  jubilee,  ^nd  how  vividly  does 
this  short  sentence  bring  before  us  that  terrible 
scene  —  fit  conclusion  to  the  long  years  of  self- 
denial  and  sorrow — when  the  Son  of  God  bowed 
Himself  upon  the  Cross,  and  with  an  agony  of 
which  no  man  can  conceive,  passed  the  gates  of 
Death !  The  imagination  calls  up  the  mighty 
crowd  which  had  gathered  to  that  spectacle  — 
the  jibe  and  scorn  of  the  Jewish  priests,  as  they 
inflamed  the  bigoted  and  urged  on  the  shrink- 


144  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

ing —  the  whirl  and  roar  of  scoffing  thousands, 
as  that  living  flood  poured  out  from  the  Holy 
City,  and  rolled  around  the  sacred  Mount.  And 
far  above  them,  "  lifted  up  to  be  seen  of  all  men," 
on  the  only  throne  which  His  rebellious  subjects 
gave,  was  the  promised  Messiah,  hearing  even  in 
death  their  mad  ingratitude  and  cruel  tauntings. 
Yet  on  that  patient  sufferer's  brow,  where  the 
inspiration  of  the  Divinity  and  the  agonies  of 
Humanity  straggled  together,  we  may  believe, 
there  beamed  an  expression  of  the  loftiest  tri- 
umph. He  felt,  that  even  in  dissolution  He  was 
winning  the  noblest  victory,  and  gaining  immor- 
tality for  the  countless  tribes  of  His  fellow  men. 
As  the  hourj  passed  on,  popular  passion  was 
stirred  up  to  its  wildest  excess.  The  rude  uproar 
and  furious  execration  of  myriads  filled  the  air, 
and  mingled  with  the  low,  deep  tones  of  our  ex- 
piring Master,  while  He  prayed  for  His  enemies, 
or  commended  His  soul  to  God.  At  length, 
there  rang  without  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  that 
last,  loud  cry,  which  proclaimed  to  a  wondering 
universe,  that  all  was  finished — the  mighty  offer- 
ing made  —  anil  that  u  through  death  our  Lord 
had  destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of  death." 


fiOOD   FRIDAY.  145 

Then  it  was,  that  even  inanimate  nature  seemed 
to  sympathise  in  his  struggle.  The  sun  veiled 
its  face,  and  darkness  covered  the  land.  The 
earth  reeled  to  and  fro,  beneath  the  earthquake's 
shock.  And  not  on  the  living  only  did  this 
day  of  strange  revelations  produce  its  influence. 
Even  the  last  resting-places  of  the  dead  were 
rent  asunder,  that  on  the  morning  of  the  first 
day  they  too  might  come  forth  with  their  risen 
Lord.  Then,  even  the  bodies  of  the  slumber- 
ing saints  started  from  their  graves,  and  glided 
through  the  city  where  once  they  dwelt.  Dim 
and  livid  forms,  still  wearing  the  cerements  of 
the  tomb  —  bearing  yet  its  fearful  impress  —  in 
this  breathing  world,  yet  not  of  it  —  they  "ap- 
peared to  many,"  as  it  were,  claiming  again  bro- 
therhood with  the  living,  and  teaching  them  by 
their  own  ghastly  presence,  the  earliest  pi-oofs 
of  a  resurrection.  Such  were  the  terrors  of  the 
first  Good  Friday. 

"^  Is  it  strange  then,  that  the  members  of  the 
early  Church,  with  awed  and  chastened  spirits, 
kept  this  holy  day,  and  felt  that  deep  indeed 
should  be  their  self-abasement  at  this  season  of 
their  Lord's  mysterious  agonies  ?  They  consid- 


146  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

ered  it  as  invested  with  a  peculiar  solemnity, 
and  even  those  who  might  have  been  negligent 
during  the  rest  of  Lent,  religiously  observed  this 
day,  as  the  one  on  which  the  Bridegroom  was 
taken  from  them.1  And  in  the  same  spirit  should 
we  act  now.  "  On  this  day  "  —  says  Bishop  Ho- 
bart  —  "  all  the  pursuits  of  business  should  be 
suspended ;  the  service  of  the  Church  devoutly 
attended;  and  the  intervals  of  public  worship 
devoted  to  holy  meditation  on  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  and  to  other  pious  exercises.  By  absti- 
nence, self-denial,  and  humiliation,  we  should  seek 
to  testify  our  sympathy  in  the  sufferings  of  our 
Lord,  and  our  lively  sorrow  for  our  sins  which 
occasioned  His  sufferings.  There  can  be  no 
greater  evidence  of  insensibility  and  ingratitude, 
than  to  spend  the  day  sacred  to  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  in  the  usual  pursuits  of  business  or 
pleasure." 

Is  he  then  keeping  it  as  he  should,  who'per- 
haps  only  escapes  from  his  usual  occupation  in 
the  court  room  or  the  counting  houee,  for  a 
single  hour  to  attend  the  services  of  the  Church? 
Are  his  thoughts  in  a  proper  state  for  comme- 

1  See  BINGIIAM'S  Or  If/.  Ecclcs.,  lib.  xxi.,  eh.  1,  sec.  1. 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  147 

morating  his  Lord's  passion,  when  lie  passes  at 
once  to  the  sanctuary  from  the  noise  and  turmoil 
of  business,  with  all  its  restless  and  disquieting 
cares  about  him?  And  has  he  profited  as  he 
should  "by  these  holy  services,  v/hen  he  hurries 
back  at  once  to  the  anxieties  of  this  working 
world  ?  JSTo  —  let  the  -merchant  desert  for  the 
day,  the  mart  of  business  —  let  the  professional 
man  close  his  office  —  and  the  world  will  begin 
to  believe,  that  this  is  a  season  holy  to  the  Lord. 
Then  the  words  of  our  Liturgy  will  come  home 
to  them  with  power,  and  sink  into  their  hearts, 
and  they  will  realize  more  deeply  the  mighty 
debt  they  owe  to  Him  who  died  for  them. 

And  how  beautifully  appropriate  are  all  the 
services  which  the  Church  has  prescribed  for  this 
solemn  season !  The  Psalms  for  the  day,  com- 
posed by  David  in  times  of  sorrow  and  distress, 
have  always  been  considered  as  having  a  still 
higher  reference  to  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
Christ.  The  first  lesson  for  the  morning  (Gen. 
xxii,)  by  narrating  the  intended  sacrifice  of  Isaac 
on  Mount  Moriah,  points  with  the  voice  of  pro- 
phecy to  the  coming  agonies  of  the  Son  of  God, 
which  ages  after  were  to  be  endured  upon  the 


J48  THE   LKXTKN   FAST. 

same  spot;  while  the  second  lesson  (John  xviii.,) 
brings  a  portion  of  our  Lord's  sufferings  before 
us,  in  the  simple  yet  touching  record  of  the  be- 
loved disciple  who  was  himself  a  witness.  The 
first  lesson  for  the  evening  (Isaiah  lii.,  ver.  13, 
and  chap,  liii.,)  contains  the  most  minute  and 
striking  prophecy  of  the  passion  of  our  Lord, 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  the 
predictions  in  the  Old  Testament,  while  the 
second  lesson  (Phil,  ii.,)  contrasts  the  humiliation 
of  Christ  with  His  pro-existent  dignity,  and  from 
this  example  inculcates  the  virtues  of  unity  and 
humbleness  of  mind.  Such  are  the  truths  which 
are  now  brought  before  us,  and  remembering  the 
inestimable  benefits  which  we  have  obtained  by 
this  one  great  sacrifice  of  our  Lord,  we  can  not 
but  feel  that  this  fast  is  appropriately  named 
Good  Friday.  The  recollections  which  gather 
around  it  may  be  those  of  sorrow,  yet  mingled 
with  them  is  the  loftiest  triumph,  for  at  this 
period  it  was  that  man's  great  redemption  was 
wrought  out. 

The  ordinary  themes  connected  with  the  sacri- 
fice of  our  Lord  are  familiar  to  all  who  "profess 
and  call  themselves  Christians,"  and  need  not  be 


GOOD  FRIDAY.  149 

discussed  in  a  work  of  this  kind.  They  form  the 
very  foundation  of  all  religious  teaching.  We 
will  therefore  endeavor  to  bring  forward  one 
point  which  is  generally  less  understood  —  THE 

WITHDRAWAL  OF  THE  DIVINE  PRESENCE  FROM  THE 
SUFFERER  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  HIS  GREATEST  NEED. 

And  we  have  selected  this  from  the  belief,  that 
it  furnishes  the  most  strange  feature  in  all  the 
array  of  His  agony.  Overwhelming  as  were  the 
sorrows  which  gathered  around  the  Son  of  Man 
in  the  time  of  His  deepest  degradation  and  shame, 
there  were  none  that  can  be  compared  with  this. 
When  His  death  cry — "  My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  than  forsaken  me  ?  " — rang  in  the  ears  of  the 
astonished  spectators,  it  proclaimed  that  a  new 
and  most  bitter  ingredient  had  been  added  to 
His  cup  of  misery. 

And  here  we  would  observe,  that  we  can 
never  fully  conceive  of  the  amount  of  our  Lord's 
sufferings.  We  have  no  capacity  for  compre- 
hending their  reality  and  boundless  extent.  Our 
narrow  conceptions  can  never  picture  to  us  the 
unutterable  sorrows  of  an  infinite  mind.  Although 
of  course  His  Divine  nature  suffered  not,  yet  its 
very  presence  and  union  with  his  human  nature, 


150  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

endowed  the  latter  with  capabilities  of  agony 
which  no  mere  mortal  could  ever  possess.  Even 
His  boundless  knowledge — enabling  Him  to  look 
forward  with  certainty  to  all  that  was  at  hand- 
placed  Him  in  a  condition  for  enduring  unspeak- 
able anguish  of  soul.  The  wide  interval  then 
which  separates  us  from  our  Lord,  necessarily 
renders  our  view  of  all  that  concerns  Him  partial 
and  defective.  "  We  see  but  in  part,"  and  of 
course,  "  we  know  but  in  part."  It  is  one  of 
those  subjects  of  a 'spiritual  nature  which  we  can 
not  grasp.  As  we  are  unable  to  attain  to  an 
understanding  of  the  inconceivable  bliss  which 
our  Lord  now  inherits,  so  we  can  as  little  explain 
the  depth  of  agony  to  which  once  he  sank. 
Much  must  be  left  to  humble  faith.  We  must 
look  upon  it  as  a  mystery  which  perhaps  in 
another  state  of  being,  with  enlarged  faculties, 
may  be  clear  to  us. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  are  naturally  ac- 
customed to  dwell  most  upon  the  mere  physical 
and  bodily  sufferings  of  our  Lord.  These  we  can 
in  some  measure  imagine.  We  see  the  Cr<>-s 
erected  before  us — the  torn  and  agonized  body— 
the  parching  thirst — the  crown  of  thorns  pressed 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  151 

on  the  bleeding  brow — and  the  spoar  thrust  into 
the  side.  All  these  things  a  mere  mortal  might 
endure,  and  they  come  therefore  within  the 
range  of  our  comprehension.  But  beyond  this 
there  is  a  deeper  gulf,  into  which  we  seldom  send 
our  thoughts  forward.  The  soul  also  had  its 
sufferings,  which  we  believe  no  words  can  ade- 
quately describe.  We  gather  this  from  the 
simple  narrative  of  Scripture.  When  it  speaks 
of  His  mental  anguish,  the  writers  seem  to  be 
aware  that  all  human  language  is  utterly  insuffi- 
cient. How  strong  therefore  are  the  expressions 
they  select,  and  what  a  depth  of  meaning  are 
they  evidently  endeavoring  to  express!  Their 
words  signify  the  greatest  possible  extremity  of 
sorrow,  and  anxiety,  and  distress.  "  His  soul 
was  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death."  A 
dark  cloud  gathered  over  Him.  His  earnest 
prayer  was  —  "  Father,  save  me  from  this  hour." 
He  seems  even  deprived  of  those  consolations 
which  good  men  usually  enjoy  in  the  hour  of  their 
final  struggle,  and  which  enable  them  to  triumph 
in  the  prospect  of  approaching  dissolution.  But 
to  wThat  can  we  ascribe  this  state  of  despondency 
to  which  He  was  reduced  except  to  the  with« 


152  THE   LENTEN"   FAST. 

drawal  of  the  Divine  Presence,  by  which  God 
has  promised  to  uphold  His  faithful  children  in 
tribulation,  and  from  the  enjoyment  of  which 
His  own  Son  was  cut  off,  when  "  the  sorrows  of 
death  compassed  Him,  and  the  pains  of  Hell  gnt 
hold  upon  Him." 

In  attempting  then  to  enlarge  our  knowledge 
of  this  mysterious  subject,  as  far  as  it  has  been 
revealed  by  the  word  of  God,  we  would  remark, 
that  by  the  withdraival  of  the  Divine  Presence  is 
not  meant,  that  the  intimate  union  between  the 
.Divine  and  human  natures  u)as  dissolved.  When 
on  His  coming  into  the  world,  the  Divinity  as- 
sumed a  mortal  body,  a  union  was  formed  which 
was  indissoluble.  It  subsisted  through  all  II  is 
toilsome  wanderings  through  Judea,  in  His  want, 
and  deprivation,  and  sorrow,  and  even  on  the 
Cross  it  did  not  desert  Him.  It  remained,  to 
give  dignity  to  His  sufferings.  It  rendered  the 
victim  worthy  to  be  "  a  propitiation  for  the  sins 
of  the  whole  world."2  But  it  was  the  comfort- 


2  Hooker  in  one  place  in  a  single  passage  puts  this  poii.l 
in  a  clear  light,  when  referring  to  some  of  the  ancient 
controversies  with  respect  to  it.  "Theodoret  dispute-til, 
with  great  earnestness,  that  'God'  can  not  be  said  to 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  153 

able  assurance  of  its  presence  which  was  with- 
drawn in  that  fearful  hour  when  most  it  was 
needed. 

If  however  you  ask  the  way  in  which  this  was 
done,  we  answer,  we  can  not  tell.  God  has  not 
revealed  to  us  the  manner  in  which  it  was  effect- 
ed. He  only  informs  us,  that  His  crucified  Son 
was  for  a  time  deprived  of  the  bright  beams 
of  that  Divinity  which  had  taken  up  its  abode 
within  Him  —  that  while  He  still  continued  to 
be  God  as  well  as  man,  there  was  no  present 
consciousness  or  feeling  of  his  own  perfections. 
It  seems  as  if  feeble  humanity  was  left  for  a  time 
to  bear  alone,  the  almost  insupportable  load 
which  was  crushing  it  down.  Beyond  this  we 
know  nothing.  We  can  not  explain  the  way  in 
which  the  union  of  the  two  natures  was  at  first 

suffer.  But  he  thereby  meaneth  Christ's  Divine  Nature 
against  Appollinarius,  which  held  even  Deity  itself  pass- 
ible. Cyril  011  the  other  side  against  Nestorius  as  much 
contendeth,  that  whosoever  will  deny  c  very  God '  to  have 
suffered  death,  doth  forsake  the  faith,  which,  notwith- 
standing to  hold,  were  Heresy,  if  the  namo  of  God  in  this 
assertion  did  not  import,  as  it  doth,  the  Person  of  Christ, 
who  being  verily  God,  suffered  death,  but  in  the  flesh,  and 
not  in  that  substance  for  which  the  name  of  God  is  given 
Him." — Ecdes.  Polity,  lib.  v.,  sec.  53. 


154  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

formed,  nor  can  we  fully  comprehend  the  manner 
in  which  the  suspension  of  the  Divine  Presence 
took  place.  We  see  only  its  effects,  in  the  mental 
agony  which  its  departure  produced. 

The  next  inquiry  then  which  arises  is,  with 
regard  to  flie  reason  of  this  withdrawal.  It  was 
evidently,  we  think,  to  place  our  Lord  in  a  situ- 
ation which  qualified  Him  for  deeper  suffering. 
While  the  inspirations  of  the  Divinity  were  burn- 
ing brightly  within  Him,  He  could  not  drink  to 
its  dregs  that  bitter  cup  which  was  put  to  His 
lips.  There  was  a  consolation  and  an  ineffable 
bliss  of  which  He  must  be  deprived,  that  He 
might  be  enabled  to  reach  the  very  extremity 
of  woe. 

This  is  a  truth  which  scarcely  needs  to  be  en- 
forced. We  know  that  God  is  the  fountain  of 
all  joy  and  consolation,  and  the  more  nearly  we 
are  united  to  Him,  the  greater  is  our  happiness. 
u  In  His  presence  is  fullness  of  joy,  and  at  His 
right  hand  are  pleasures  for  evermore."  It  is  the 
enjoyment  of  this  bright  vision,  which  imparts 
such  extasy  to  the  saints  in  glory,  and  should, 
even  for  a  single  moment,  a  dark  veil  be  drawn, 
cutting  them  off  from  its  contemplation,  they 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  155 

would  at  once  droop  in  sorrow.  To  our  Lord, 
therefore,  mere  bodily  sufferings,  grievous  as  they 
were,  could  have  been  comparatively  but  of  little 
moment,  had  He  been  animated  and  upheld  by 
the  presence  of  the  Divinity  within.  But  this 
was  not  allowed  Him,  for  the  grief  He  was  to 
endure  was  the  accumulation  of  every  sorrow 
which  could  be  heaped  upon  Him  —  so  fearful 
was  the  ransom  to  be  paid  for  us.  God  there- 
fore forsook  Him,  and  He  was  left  in  the  depth 
of  despondency.  Such  we  believe  to  be  the  rea- 
son of  this  mysterious  event.  It  was  to  qualify 
our  Surety,  to  bear  the  whole  burden  which  was 
to  be  laid  upon  Him,  and  to  say,  in  the  words  of 
the  ancient  prophet — "  Behold  and  see,  if  there 
be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow,  which  is 
done  unto  ine,  wherewith  the  Lord  has  afflicted, 
me,  in  the  day  of  His  fierce  anger." 

Again  —  let  us  look  at  this  deprivation  to  our 
Lord  in  another  respect  —  its  -strangeness.  It 
was  the  withdrawal  of  that  which  He  had  ever 
before  possessed.  Before  the  world  was,  even 
through  the  countless  ages  of  the  past  eternity, 
His  had  ever  been  "  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead.'' 
He  had  ever  shared  in  all  that  inexpressible  de- 


156  THE   LTCXTEN   FAST. 

light  which  must  be  the  attendant  of  Divinity, 
And  even  when  on  earth,  we  have  no  reason  to 
suppose,  that  hitherto  its  beams  had  been  ob- 
scured, or  the  sensible  evidence  of  its  presence 
taken  away.  The  Spirit,  we  are  told,  was  poured 
out  upon  Him  "  without  measure,"  and  we  read 
in  every  action  which  He  performed,  and  in  every 
word  which  He  spake,  the  proof  that  it  was  done 
through  the  promptings  of  His  Higher  nature. 
As  therefore  the  manner  of  His  existence  during 
this  time  is  incomprehensible,  so  also  does  the 
bliss  which  it  afforded  Him,  transcend  our  utmost 
thoughts.  But  now,  for  a  season  this  was  taken 
away,  and  the  very  height  of  happiness  to  which 
it  had  always  before  raised  Him,  now  deepened 
the  woe,  to  which  by  its  loss  He  was  reduced, 
His  feelings  could  only  find  utterance  in  that 
plaintive  exclamation  which  was  wrung  from 
Him  —  "  Eli,  Eli,  lama,  sabachthani,  that  is  to 
say,  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  !  "  Yet  in.  this  you  perceive  the  strangeness 
of  the  deprivation.  He  who  had  been  God  from 
all  eternity,  now  for  the  first  time  felt  Himself 
deserted  by  the  present  influence  of  the  Deity, 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  ]57 

He  felt,  that  in  suffering  at  least,  He  was  nothing 
but  a  man. 

But  let  us  illustrate  this  point  by  something 
more  within  the  sphere  of  our  comprehension. 
Take  an  angel,  who  from  the  moment  of  his 
creation,  has  always  rejoiced  in  the  presence 
of  God,  and  let  the  light  of  his  Maker's  coun- 
tenance be  withdrawn  from  him.  Indescribable 
would  be  the  wretchedness  which  in  such  a  case 
would  overwhelm  that  bright  Intelligence,  when 
the  beatific  vision  was  removed.  Yet  we  think, 
that  the  darkest  feature  in  his  sufferings  —  that 
which  would  force  him  to  feel  them  with  the 
greatest  intenseness — would  be,  the  very  strange- 
ness of  his  situation  —  the  fact  that  it  was  some- 
thing which  he  had  never  before  experienced. 
Now  such,  only  in  an  infinitely  greater  degree, 
was  the  case  with  our  Lord.  For  a  brief  time, 
He  was  left  to  suffer  alone.  It  was  the  very 
climax  of  His  misery  —  the  hour  of  His  deepest 
humiliation,  which  was  soon  however  to  give 
place  to  joy  and  triumph. 

But  when  he  now  looks  back  upon  it  from  His 
throne  of  glory,  think  you,  that  any  thing  like 
regret  is  felt,  for  the  pain  He  endured — the  fiery 


158  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

trial  through  which  He  passed  ?  No — we  know 
there  cannot  be.  As  the  number  of  the  Elect 
gather  into  the  Paradise  of  God,  and  he  beholds 
in  these  ransomed  spirits  the  prize  for  which  He 
contended,  widely  different  emotions  must  fill  His 
breast.  He  sees  in  them  "  the  travail  of  His  soul, 
and  is  satisfied."  He  feels  no  sorrow  that  He 
trod  the  wine-press  of  God's  wrath.  He  judges 
it  worth  all  His  trials  and  suffering,  that  He 
should  lead  up  many  sons  and  daughters  to  glory, 
and  therefore  He  is  contented  to  have  borne  all 
that  He  did.  He  finds  an  ample  recompense  in 
the  sight  of  the  happiness  of  the  redeemed,  and 
in  the  glad  rejoicings  of  the  unnumbered  millions, 
who  but  for  His  sorrows  would  have  been  the 
heirs  of  eternal  woe. 

Again  —  we  would  look  at  this  withdrawal  of 
the  Divine  Presence  in  one  other  point  of  view — 
the  greatness  of  the  sorrow  it  occasioned.  We  find 
no  record  of  any  alleviation  afforded  our  Master 
in  this  hour  of  intense  bitterness.  An  angel 
was  indeed  sent  down,  but  we  are  told,  it  was  to 
"strengthen  Him."  Not  a  word  is  said  about 
conferring  comfort.  It  was  to  endow  Him  with 
the  ability  to  suffer.  Now  the  truth  is  an  obvious 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  159 

one,  tliat  just  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  holi- 
ness we  have,  will  be  our  delight  in  the  presence 
of  God,  and  of  course,  the  depth  also  of  distress 
we  shall  feel,  when  it  i?  withdrawn  from  us. 
The  kingly  Poet  of  Israel  would  exclaim  —  u  My 
soul  thirsteth  for  Thee,  O  God ;  my  flesh  longeth 
for  Thee  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land,  where  no 
water  is."  The  individual,  whose  heart  has  been 
sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  will  feel  that  the 
very  existence  of  his  spiritual  life  depends  upon 
the  continuance  of  this  comfort,  and  will  mourn 
its  absence  in  bitterness.  How  deep  then  must 
have  been  the  sorrow  of  our  Lord,  who  was 
without  sin,  when  this  evil  befell  Him,  and  He 
was  no  longer  cheered  by  the  Divine  presence ! 
We,  in  the  midst  of  our  imperfections  and  blind- 
ness, can  never  realize  the  emotions  of  a  Being 
of  perfect  holiness,  at  such  a  change.  It  was  the 
removal  of  the  sun  from  the  system.  It  was 
condemning  Him  to  darkness  and  despair. 

But  there  was  more  than  the  mere  withdrawal 
of  God's  presence.  There  was  also  poured  out 
upon  Him,  that  just  retribution  of  the  Almighty, 
which  was  merited  by  the  race  whose  nature  He 
had  assumed.  "  He  bore  our  griefs  and  carried 


160  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

our  sorrows.  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities ; 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  Him; 
and  with  His  stripes  we  are  healed.  All  we  like 
sheep  have  gone  astray ;  we  have  turned  every 
one  to  his  own  way;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid 
upon  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  He  had 
placed  Himself  to  endure  the  punishment  of 
transgressions,  which  otherwise  would  have  de- 
scended upon  us,  and  therefore  He  was  weighed 
down  by  the  load  of  divine  justice  against  sin. 
He  stood  up  to  be  a  Surety,  to  pay  the  penalty 
due  from  fallen  man  —  to  bear  the  curse  mid 
shame  —  and  He  suffered  them  to  the  uttermost. 
The  very  consciousness  then  of  this,  must  have 
immeasurably  aggravated  His  anguish,  when  lie 
felt  its  most  fearful  effect  —  the  Almighty,  as  it 
were,  retiring  from  Him,  and  abandoning  Him 
to  darkness. 

Another  necessary  consequence  of  this  with- 
drawal was,  tli at  it  left  Him  exposed  to  the 
efforts  and  temptations  of  the  fallen  spirits.  We 
find,  that  when  Satan  first  assaulted  Him  in  the 
wilderness,  he  was  easily  repulsed,  for  then  our 
Lord  was  animated  with  a  consciousness  of  the 
presence  of  Divinity,  and  His  communion  with 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  1G1 

God  was  uninterrupted.  But  when  this  change 
passed  over  His  soul,  and  He  was  forsaken  by 
the  Father,  then  He  was  left  open  and  exposed 
to  all  the  arts  of  the  Evil  One.  The  malice  and 
subtlety  of  that  fallen  spirit — still  powerful  even 
in  his  apostacy--  were  exerted  to  the  utmost, 
and  thus  literally,  "  Plis  soul  became  an  offering 
for  sin."  It  was  this  which  He  himself  inti- 
mated, when  He  said  to  His  enemies  among  the 
Jews — u  When  I  was  daily  with  you  in  the  tem- 
ple, ye  stretched  forth  no  hands  against  me,  but 
this  is  your  hour,  and  the  power  of  darkness." 
As  if  he  had  told  them  —  "  During  the  former 
part  of  my  ministry,  I  was  shielded  by  divine 
power.  You  could  effect  nothing  against  me. 
But  now,  that  aid  is  withdrawn,  and  you  and  the 
powers  of  darkness  have  your  hour  to  tempt  and 
try  me.  You  can  wreak  your  vengeance  on  my 
body,  and  my  spiritual  enemies  on  my  soul." 
We  can  not  indeed  tell  the  extent  of  influence 
which  these  apostate  spirits  are  able  to  exert,  but 
we  know  that  it  must  be  great.  And  we  may 
well  believe  that  all  the  strength  of  our  Great 
Adversary  was  put  forth  in  his  last,  decisive 
struggle  with  the  Son  of  God.  Once  he  had 


1G2  Till']   LENTKN   FAST. 

been  foiled,  but  now  the  contest  was  renewed, 
in  the  very  crisis  of  this  world's  fate,  when  its 
salvation  was  on  the  eve  of  completion,  and  all 
the  dearest  interests  of  the  countless  tribes  of 
man  were  at  stake.  We  may  be  sure  then,  that 
no  weapon  which  the  Great  Enemy  of  our  race 
could  wield,  was  left  unemployed.  Alone  our 
Redeemer  passed  through  the  fiery  furnace,  "  and 
of  the  people  there  was  none  with  Him."  Alone 
He  baffled  his  foes,  and  wrought  out  that  triumph 
in  which  through  all  ages  His  followers  are  to 
share. 

Such  then  we  believe  is  the  reason,  why  this 
also  was  added  as  the  most  bitter  ingredient  in 
the  cup  of  our  Master's  sorrows  —  the  strange- 
ness of  the  change  to  Him  —  and  the  greatness 
of  the  suffering  which  it  caused.  Can  not  we 
perceive  therefore  in  this  particular,  how  widely 
the  agonies  of  our  Lord  are  separated  from  those 
which  could  be  endured  by  any  mere  mortal  ? 
With  the  early  martyrs,  the  pain  was  confined  to 
the  body.  The  mind  was  at  peace — nay,  more 
than  this  —  was  cheered  and  elevated  by  the 
sensible  comforts  of  the  Spirit,  so  as  to  be  able, 
even  with  exultation,  to  encounter  death  in  its 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  163 

most  fearful  forms.  It  was  the  mortal  frame 
convulsed  with  agony,  but  the  spirit  departing 
in  hope.  Yet  our  Lord  was  left,  desolate  and 
forsaken,  and  in  no  other  way  can  we  account 
for  the  exceeding  sorrow  which  weighed  Him 
down,  than  by  referring  it  to  His  agony  of  mind 
under  that  additional  affliction  of  which  we  have 
endeavored  to  speak.  We  see  then,  how  utterly 
impossible  it  is  for  us  to  measure  the  length  and 
breadth  of  His  sufferings,  when  we  compare 
them  with  human  feelings  and  affections.  There 
is  an  unfathomable  depth  in  His  mysterious  sor- 
row, which  places  it  far  beyond  our  comprehen- 
sion. We  can  no  more  understand  it,  than  we 
can  the  Divine  nature.  And  it  was  this  view  of 
the  subject  which  probably  induced  the  ancient 
Greek  Church  to  insert  among  the  prayers  of 
its  Liturgy,  the  appropriate  petition — "  By  thine 
unknown  sufferings,  O  Lord,  have  mercy  upon 
us."8 

But  yet  this  consideration  should  only  awaken 
us  to  greater  gratitude.  If  His  sorrows  were 
infinite,  how  great  the  wonder  and  amazement 
which  should  fill  our  minds,  when  we  remember, 

8  Aia  TWV  ayvw^wv,  tfou  -raJrjfjLarwv,  Kupjs 


164  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

that  they  were  for  us !  They  were  the  speaking 
and  powerful  evidences  of  that  "  love  of  Christ, 
which  passeth  knowledge."  Let  us  endeavor 
then  at  present,  when  the  services  of  the  Church 
especially  calls  us  to  this  duty,  to  meditate  upon 
these  things,  until  our  holiest  affections  are  kin- 
dled into  exercise,  and  the  voice  of  praise  breaks 
forth  from  our  lips.  This  will  be  the  subject  of 
our  contemplations  in  that  coming  world  of  bliss 
to  which  we  trust  we  are  hastening  forward. 
There,  where  the  treasures  of  Divine  love  are 
unfolded  before  us,  we  shall  find  in  the  sufferings 
of  the  Son  of  God,  a  theme  to  which  the  heart 
will  ever  return  with  deepened  interest  as  the 
ages  of  eternity  roll  by.  Let  us  begin  then  now, 
to  anticipate  the  employments  of  the  heavenly 
world.  We  can  (to  use  the  beautiful  imagery 
of  Bunyan,)  ascend  the  Delectable  Mountains, 
and  from  afar,  by  the  strong  eye  of  faith  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  portals  of  the  Celestial  City,  and 
as  the  anthem  of  its  shining  inhabitants  floats 
softly  to  our  ear,  strive  even  now  to  add  our 
voices  to  their  glorious  melody.  We  know  the 
burden  of  that  "  new  song,"  and  while  still  in 
our  earthly  state,  may  familiarize  our  minds  with 


GOOD  FRIDAY.  165 

it.  As  the  years  of  our  pilgrimage  pass  away, 
and  the  time  of  our  final  retribution  draws 
nigh,  -we  can  learn  to  meditate  with  delight  upon 
that  sacrifice,  through  the  unspeakable  agonies  of 
which,  we  have  attained  all  our  hopes  of  pardon 
here  and  of  glory  hereafter. 

Here  then  is  our  trust.  Our  Lord  hath  met 
the  King  of  Terrors  —  hath  died  —  hath  passed 
the  portals  of  the  tomb.  "  Through  death  He 
destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of  death."  It 
was  breaking  his  sceptre,  and  depriving  him  of 
all  claim  to  the  countless  millions  who  else 
would  have  been  his  prey.  Why  then  should 
human  nature  shrink  back  in  dread  from  the 
path,  over  which  the  Master  hath  trodden  ? 
Why  should  we  so  often  stand  "  shivering  on  the 
brink,  afraid  to  launch  away  ? "  Why  should 
we  array  the  Last  Messenger  who  releases  us 
from  our  warfare,  with  every  attribute  of  terror, 
till  the  heart  quails  at  his  approach  ?  Even  from 
the  twilight  knowledge  of  an  ancieut  and  heathen 
philosophy,  we  may  learn  a  better  lesson.  There 
he  was  represented  as  but  the  twin  brother  of 
Sleep,  as  if  he  only  called  us  to  a  slumber  deeper 
and  longer  than  that  which  each  night  overtakes 


166  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

us.  There,  in  tlie  lands  in  which  this  mythology 
prevailed,  on  many  a  mouldering  tomb  is  still 
found  the  sculptured  image  of  the  Angel  of 
Death,  and  we  behold  him  in  the  form  of  a  youth 
his  wings  folded  in  repose,  and  his  torch  inverted. 
All  is  serene,  peaceful  and  beautiful. 

Surely  then  the  Christian,  to  whom  all  is  cer- 
tainty, may  well  say,  "  Death  is  swallowed  up  in 
victory."  Trusting  in  no  dim  speculations,  he 
"  knows  in  whom  he  has  believed,  and  that  He 
is  able  to  keep  that  which  he  has  committed  to 
Him  against  that  day."  Standing  by  the  Cross 
on  Calvary,  the  darkness  rolls  away  from  the 
landscape  which  stretches  out  before  him,  and  he 
sees  his  path  plainly  marked.  It  passes  indeed 
through  the-  wilderness,  and  down  into  the  dark 
valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death,  and  over  the 
troubled  waters  of  Jordan,  yet  he  traces  it  up  to 
the  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem  —  the  Eternal 
City  of  his  God.  This  then  is  his  hope,  which 
should  enable  him  to  greet  the  Monarch  of  the 
Tomb  with  a  calmness  which  no  earthly  philoso- 
phy could  ever  ,give.  He  realizes  that  "  through 
the  grave  and  gate  of  death  he  shall  pass  to  MH 
glorious  resurrection,  for  His  merits,  who  died, 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  167 

and  was  buried,  and  rose  again  for  us,  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."4 

But  yet,  all  our  thoughts  are  not  those  of  joy 
and  triumph  when  we  dwell  on  the  great  Sacri- 
fice. Sorrowful  emotions  also  mingle  with  them. 
If  every  promise  of  eternal  life  is  bound  up  in  the 
crucifixion  of  our  Lord,  then  what  must  we  think 
of  those,  who  seek  no  interest  in  His  Redemp- 
tion?' In  vain  for  them  were  the  sufferings — the 
scourge  —  the  nails  —  and  the  Cross  —  for  they 
have  rejected  the  precious  inheritance  which  thus 
was  purchased  for  the  fallen  sons  of  men.  "  In 
vain  "  did  we  say  ?  It  was  more  than  this.  These 
thrilling  scenes  will  add  a  deeper  horror  to  their 
condemnation,  for  in  this  manner  the  means  of 
safety  were  placed  within  their  reach,  but  they 
rejected  it,  and  trampled  the  blood  of  the  cove- 
nant beneath  their  feet.  As  they  contemplate 
then  the  sorrows  of  our  Lord,  let  them  think 
whether  that  misery  can  light,  to  redeem  from 
which  He  consented  to  suffer  so  fearfully.  Let 
them  remember  the  intensity  of  His  agony,  when 
He  uttered  the  plaintive  exclamation  —  "  My 
God  !  my  God !  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  !  " — 

4  Collect  for  Easter-Even. 


108  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

and  the  view  may  awaken  them  from  their  death- 
like apathy. 

In  a  different  spirit  indeed,  this  same  cry  has 
often  been  uttered  since,  by  thousands  in  their 
dying  hour.  This  bitter  lamentation  has  quivered 
on  the  lips  of  many  a  sinner,  as  the  shadows  of 
the  grave  gathered  around  him.  It  was  not,  as 
with  our  Lord,  the  temporary  withdrawal  of 
God's  favor,  but  his  everlasting  departure.  He 
forsook  the  infatuated  mortal  who  had  sinned 
away  his  day  of  grace,  that  lie  might  reap  the 
retribution  his  own  deeds  had  worked  out.  With 
him,  this  agonizing  cry  was  the  wail  of  a  lost 
spirit,  as  its  ceaseless  woe  was  commencing.  It 
was  tpenching  the  last  ray  which  brightened  his 
path,  leaving  the  desolate  immortal  to  begin  the 
travel  of  Eternity  in  darkness  and  despair. 

Thus  it  is,  that  from  every  side  of  us  there 
comes  a  voice  of  entreaty  and  of  warning.  Not 
from  the  word  of  God  alone — not  from  the  Cross 
of  His  Son — are  the  only  incitements  to  Christ- 
ians' earnestness  to  be  drawn.  The  wakeful, 
spiritual  eye  may  read  their  solemn  appeals  in 
many  a  scene  which  meets  us  as  we  journey  on 
our  daily  path.  From  the  parting  agonies  of 


GOOD   FRIDAY.  169 

each  careless  wanderer  from  his  Lord,  as  he 
enters  eternity  "  not  knowing  the  things  which 
shall  befall  him  there,"  is  heard  the  startling 
warning  —  "  Be  watchful,  O  pilgrim  through  an 
evil  world  —  gird  np  thy  loins  and  hasten  on- 
ward— be  earnest,  be  diligent— for  the  work  to 
be  accomplished  is  great,  while  the  day  is  passing 
away,  and  the  shadows  of  the  evening  are  stretch- 
ing forward." 


EASTER  EVEN. 


At  length  the  worst  is  o'er,  and  Thou  art  laid 

Deep  hi  thy  darksome  bed ; 
All  still  and  cold  beneath  yon  dreary  stone 

Thy  sacred  form  is  gone  ; 
Around  those  lips  where  power  and  mercy  hung, 

The  dews  of  death  have  clung ; 
11 10  dull  earth  o'er  Thee,  and  thy  foes  around, 
Thou  sleep'st  a  silent  corse,  in  funeral  fetters  wound. 

KEBLE'S  "Easter  Ew." 


V. 

EASTER  EVEN. 


WE  have  now  reached  the  last  of  those  appro- 
priate services  in  which  the  Church  calls  us  to 
unite  during  this  solemn  Season.  When  for 
weeks  we  had  chastened  our  souls  by  fasting  and 
prayer,  that  we  might  be  prepared  to  contem- 
plate the  fearful  agonies  of  the  Son  of  God,  we 
were  led  by  the  services  of  Passion  Week  to  the 
HiU  of  Calvary,  and  there  beheld  our  Lord  ex- 
piring on  the  Cross.  \  But  to-day  a  new  scene  in 
this  fearful  Tragedy  is  unfolded  before  us.  The 
crucifixion  is  over  —  the  Son  of  Man  has  passed 
the  gates  of  Death  —  His  body  been  pierced  by 
the  soldier's  spear,  to  render  it  certain  that  no 
life  remained  —  and  then  the  inanimate  remains 
given  by  Pilate  to  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  to  be 
buried  as  he  would.  They  have  been  deposited 


174  THE   LEXTEN   FAST. 

in  his  own  new  tomb  in  the  garden  —  the  stone 
sealed  —  and  the  Roman  guard  placed  around  it, 
"  lest  His  disciples  come  by  night,  and  steal  Him 
away."  There  they  are  resting,  while  many  are 
looking  anxiously  for  the  things  that  should  come 
after. 

Strange  indeed  must  have  been  "  the  search- 
ings  of  heart,"  which  took  place  among  those 
who  thus  awaited  in  trembling  expectation,  the 
further  developments  of  this  mystery.  With 
the  disciples  it  was  indeed  a  day  of  trouble  and 
suspense,  when  conflicting  emotions  filled  their 
minds.  They  scarcely  could  have  known  what 
to  think  or  believe.  Confiding  in  the  Messiah- 
ship  of  their  Lord,  as  they  witnessed  His  oft 
repeated  miracles,  they  had  "  trusted  that  this 
Jesus  was  He  who  should  have  redeemed  Israel." 
Yet  now  their  lofty  hopes,  both  for  themselves 
and  for  their  nation,  seemed  to  be  interred  in  His 
sepulchre.  "  Slow  of  heart,"  they  could  not  yet 
reconcile  the  facts  of  His  sufferings  and  His  tri- 
umph, or  learn  that  the  Redeemer  was  to  pass 
on  to  his  kingly  throne  through  the  furnace  of 
affliction. 

And  on  Mount  Moriali,  and  even  within  the 


EASTER  EVEN.  175 

precincts  of  the  Temple,  there  must  also  have 
been  anxious  and  excited  hearts.  The  rites  of 
that  Jewish  Sabbath  were  kept  as  usual — clouds 
of  incense  filled  the  Sanctuary  —  the  smoke  of 
the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  rose  in  the  air 
above  the  Holy  City  —  and  countless  thousands 
of  worshippers  as  heretofore  thronged  the  courts. 
Yet  among  those  crowds  must  there  not  have 
been  many  who  thought  with  fear  on  the  deeds 
of  the  previous  day,  and  now  shuddered  at  the 
remembrance  of  that  terrible  prayer  their  own 
lips  had  uttered  —  u  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on 
our  children !  "  Even  the  priests  and  rulers  must 
have  trembled  at  the  recollection  of  their  own 
successful  violence.  They  could  not  forbear  to 
connect  His  death  with  the  unusual  signs  which 
had  convulsed  all  nature.  In  the  very  recesses 
of  the  Temple,  the  veil  was  rent  by  no  mortal 
hands,  and  the  sacred  mysteries  of  the  Holiest 
exposed  to  view  —  a  fearful  evidence  that  the 
Divinity  was  forsaking  His  accustomed  abode. 
Did  they  behold  these  things  without  dismay? 
Did  they  minister  as  usual  with  untroubled  minds  ? 
Did  the  former  infatuation  continue,  and  the  tri- 
umph of  having  removed  a  rival  who  led  away 


178  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

tlie  people  from  them,  sustain  their  courage  amidst 
all  these  mysterious  occurrences?  We  can  not 
believe  it.  "  That  Sabbath  day  was  an  high  day," 
yet  it  was  no  time  of  festive  joy  with  the  rulers 
of  the  Jewish  nation. 

And  could  we  have  looked  into  the  spiritual 
world,  and  beheld  those  ranks  of  fallen  angels 
who  carry  on  a  ceaseless  warfare  against  Him, 
whose  praises  once  they  sang  with  harp  and 
anthem,  we  believe  that  there  also  dismay  would 
have  been  seen.  The  long  years  of  temptation 
and  conflict  with  the  Messiah  were  over,  and 
these  His  mightiest  enemies  —  to  work  whose 
will  the  Priests  and  Sadducees  were  but  instru- 
ments —  had  apparently  triumphed  when  they 
silenced  His  voice  for  ever.  Yet  in  this,  the 
moment  of  seeming  victory,  must  not  the  Arch- 
Adversary  have  felt  a  consciousness  of  defeat,  as 
the  exclamation,  "  It  is  finished,"  proclaimed  to 
him  not  only  that  the  sufferings  of  the  Son  of 
God  were  over,  bat  also  that  his  own  sceptre 
was  broken,  and  the  fancied  sovereignty  forever 
wrested  from  his  grasp?  May  not  the  truth 
have  then  first  dawned  upon  a  waiting  universe, 
that  Christ  having  "  died  for  our  sins,"  was 


EASTER  EVEN".  177 

about  to  be  u  raised  np  again  for  our  justifica- 
tion ? "  We  cannot  speak  of  these  tilings  with 
certainty;  yet  when  we  r.emember  the  intense 
interest  with  which  all  orders  of  spiritual  beings 
marked  the  unfolding  of  this  mighty  scheme  of 
redemption,  we  may  well  believe  that  its  con- 
summation mast  have  fallen  with  a  crushing 
weight  upon  those  apostate  angels  who  had  been 
striving  to  defeat  it,  and  at  the  same  time  awak- 
ened to  its  loftiest  exercise,  the  joy  and  adora- 
tion of  the  myriads  who  still  gathered  about  the 
throne. 

It  is  this  interval  of  suspense  —  this  time  of 
doubt  and  fear  among  men  —  when  the  body  of 
our  Lord  was  still  in  the  tomb,  and  His  soul  had 
gone  to  "the  place  of  departed  spirits"  -that 
is  known  as  Easter  Even.  It  is  the  Saturday, 
between  the  day  of  the  crucifixion,  and  the  morn- 
ing of  Easter  Sunday.  In  the  early  Church  it 
was  kept  as  a  solemn  fast,  being  the  only  Satur- 
day throughout  the  year  which  was  thus  ob- 
served, for  even  in  Lent  this  day  was  a  festival 
together  with  the  Lord's  day  which  followed. 
Thus  we  find  it  ordered  in  the  Apostolic  Consti- 
tutions, as  being  in  accordance  with  the  estab- 


THE   LENTEN  FAST. 


lislied  custom  of  the  Cliurcli  in  that  age  —  "  Let 
as  many  as  are  able,  fast  on  the  Friday  and  Sab- 
bath," (that  is  Saturday,  the  Jewish  Sabbath,) 
"  throughout,  eating  nothing  till  the  cock-crow- 
ing in  the  morning.  But  if  any  can  not  join  both 
days  together  in  one  continued  fast,  let  him  how- 
ever keep  the  Sabbath  a  fast,  for  the  Lord  speak- 
ing of  Himself  said,  c  when  the  Bridegroom  shall 
be  taken  away  from  them,  in  those  days  shall 
they  fast.7"1 

The  night  of  this  day,  (as  we  learn  from  the 
next  chapter  of  the  Apostolic  Constitutions,)  was 
spent  as  a  solemn  Vigil,  when  they  assembled 
together  for  the  performance  of  divine  service, 
reading  the  Scripture,  prayer,  and  preaching. 
There  they  continued  until  midnight,  and  many 
even  remained  until  the  cock-crowing.  "  It  was 
a  tradition  among  the  Jews  "  —  says  St.  Jerome  — 
"  that  Christ  would  come  at  midnight,  as  He  did 
upon  the  Egyptians  at  the  time  of  the  Passover. 
Thence,  I  think,  the  Apostolical  Custom  came, 
not  to  dismiss  the  people  on  the  Paschal  Vigil 
before  midnight,  expecting  the  coming  of  Christ  ; 
after  which  time  presuming  on  security,  they  keep 

1  JPatres  Apos.,  COTEL  vol.  i.,  p.  325. 


EASTER   EVEN.  179 

the  day  a  festival."8  At  a  later  period,  when  the 
Church  had  vanquished  -the  power  of  ancient 
Paganism,  and  begun  to  put  on  her  robes  of 
power,  this  Vigil  was  kept  with  great  pomp, 
Constantine  —  as  Eusebius  tells  us,  in  his  life  of 
that  emperor  —  "set  up  lofty  pillars  of  wax  to 
burn  as  torches  all  over  the  city,  and  lamps  burn- 
ing in  all  places,  so  that  the  night  seemed  to  out- 
shine the  sun  at  noon-day." 

The  Church  has  therefore  still  continued  to 
command  the  observance  of  this  day,  although 
the  state  of  society  and  the  forms  of  life  in  this 
age  require  that  the  manner  in  which  it  is  done 
should  be  modified.8  The  services  which  have 
been  provided,  are  marked  by  the  same  wisdom 
which  can  be  discerned  in  all  the  arrangements 

2  BINGHAM'S  Orig.  Eccles.,  lib.  xxi.,  chap.  1,  sec.  32. 

3  The  writer  has  been  accustomed  for  several  years,  to 
hold  the  last  Lent  service  on  Easter  Even,  at  5  p.  M.,  and 
believes  that  not  one  among  the  week-day  services  of  the 
Church  is  better  calculated  to  arrest  the  attention.     That 
Vesper  hour  of  quiet,  when  the  cares  of  the  busy  week 
are  over,  in  the  waning  twilight,  as  the  day  is  softly  fading 
into  darkness,  seems  naturally  to  harmonize  with  our  feel- 
ings of  devotion.    Then,  in  solemn  meditation  we  can  look 
back  at  the  services  which  are  gone,  and  forward  to  tho 
great  Festival  of  the  morrow. 


180  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

of  our  venerable  Church.  In  the  beautiful  Col- 
lect for  the  day,  we  offer  up  our  humble  petitions, 
u  that  as  we  are  baptised  into  the  death  of  our 
blessed '  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  so  by  continual 
mortifying  our  corrupt  affections,  we  may  be 
buried  with  him ;  and  that  through  the  grave  and 
gate  of  death  we  may  pass  to  our  joyful  resurrec- 
tion, for  His  merits,  who  died  and  was  buried, 
and  rose  again  for  us,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 
The  Epistle,  from  St.  Peter,  containing  that  mys- 
terious passage  concerning  our  Lord's  "  preach- 
ing unto  the  spirits  in  prison,"  seems  evidently 
selected  by  the  Church  as  referring  to  the  con- 
dition of  His  soul  during  this  period ;  while  the 
Gospel  clearly  describes  His  burial,  and  the  care 
that  was  taken  to  "  make  the  sepulchre  sure, 
sealing  the  stone,  and  setting  a  watch." 

With  the  future  history  of  our  Lord's  body, 
we  are  all  well  acquainted.  We  know  how  on 
the  next  morning  He  burst  the  bands  of  death, 
and  came  forth  from  the  tomb,  and  then  after 
mingling  with  His  disciples  for  forty  dnys  as- 
cended up  visibly  into  Heaven.  But  the  ques- 
tion, Where  was  the  human  soul  of  our  Master 
during  this  period  ?  is  one  which  most  of  His  fol- 


EASTER   EVEN  181 

lowers  are  not  so  well  prepared  to  answer.  We 
reply  therefore,  it  was  in  the  INTERMEDIATE  si  ATE, 
and  to  a  discussion  of  this  subject  we  intend  to 
devote  the  remainder  of  these  pages.  We  have 
selected  it,  because  although  one  most  important 
to  us,  there  is  probably  no  truth  asserted  in  the 
Creed,  which  is  so  little  understood. 

The  faith  of  the  Church  then  with  respect  to 
the  doctrine  is  briefly  this  —  that  while  the  hour 
of  death  decides  irreversibly  the  condition  of  the 
spirit,  so  that  "  they  which  are  holy  will  be  holy 
still,"  and  for  the  wicked  there  will  remain  no 
more  sacrifice  for  sin,  neither  can  it  be  purged 
away  by  offering  for  ever,  yet  the  just  do  not  at 
once  enter  into  Heaven,  nor  do  the  lost  descend 
immediately  to  their  eternal  prison.  They  go  to 
an  intermediate  state,  where  they  await  the  last 
judgment.  There  indeed  the  righteous  are  in 
happiness,  and  the  wicked  in  misery,  through  all 
the  ages  which  intervene ;  yet  the  one  can  not 
have  "  the  fullness  of  joy,"  nor  the  other  suffer 
the  extremity  of  their  destined  misery,  until  their 
souls  are  once  more  united  to  their  bodies.  This 
takes  place  at  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord. 
At  that  time,  the  spiritual  and  earthly  parts  of 


182  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

our  nature  will  be  again  brought  into  union,  and 
the  mighty  army  of  the  dead  gather  before  the 
Great  White  Throne.  Then,  the  Books  will  be 
opened — the  final  sentence  be  pronounced — the 
gates  of  Heaven,  and  the  dreary  prison  house  of 
the  lost,  unclose  to  receive  their  appointed  occu- 
pants— and  the  spirits  of  all  who  have  ever  lived, 
commence  the  travel  of  Eternity. 

In  endeavoring  to  state  the  proofs  on  which 
we  rest  our  belief  in  this  doctrine,  we  naturally 
turn  first  to  tlie  inspired  word  of  God.  For,  as 
Lord  Bacon  has  well  remarked — u  A  knowledge 
of  the  soul  must  in  the  end  be  bounded  by  reli- 
gion, or  else  it  will  be  subject  to  deceit  and  delu- 
sion: for  as  the  substance  of  the  soul  in  the 
creation  was  not  extracted  out  of  the  mass  of 
Heaven  and  earth  by  the  benediction  of  a  4  pro- 
ducat,'  but  was  immediately  inspired  by  God,  so 
it  is  not  possible  that  it  should  be  otherwise  than 
by  accident,  subject  to  the  laws  of  Heaven  and 
earth,  which  are  the  subject  of  philosophy;  and 
therefore  the  true  knowledge  of  the  nature  and 
state  of  the  soul,  must  come  by  the  same  inspi- 
ration that  gave  the  substance."4 

4  Advancement  of  Learning.  BACON'S  Works,  vol.  ii., 
p.  170,  Montague's  edit. 


EASTER   EVEK  183 

We  learn  then  most  plainly  from  Scripture, 
tliat  the  souls  of  the  just  do  not  (as  some  in  all 
ages  have  vainly  imagined,)  sleep  with  their 
"bodies  in  utter  insensibility,  until  the  morning  of 
the  resurrection.  Every  intimation  there  given 
us  with  regard  to  our  spiritual  nature,  confirms 
the  truth  which  reason  teaches,  that  "  conscious- 
ness must  be  a  necessary  attribute  of  a  spirit  in 
a  disembodied  state."  Samuel  was  summoned 
up  from  his  place  of  repose,  evidently  returning 
reluctantly  to  the  cares  of  this  world,  and  his 
inquiry  was — "  Why  hast  thou  disquieted  me,  to 
bring  me  up ! "  Every  circumstance  of  the  nar- 
rative too  shows,  that  the  spirit  of  Samuel  was 
truly  evoked.  Saul  evidently  believed  it,  and 
the  sacred  penman  records  it,  as  if  stating  an 
actual  occurrence.  "  And  Saul "  —  says  he  — 
"  perceived  that  it  was  Samuel,"  and  "  Samuel 
said,"  etc.  The  son  of  Sirach  also,  who  is  thought 
to  have  written  two  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era,  expresses  himself  on  this  topic  with,  the  same 
unhesitating  confidence.  After  giving  a  brief 
account  of  Samuel's  life  and  character,  he  adds — 
"  And  after  his  death  he  prophesied  and  showed 
the  King  his  end,  and  lift  up  his  voice  from  the 


184  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

earth  in  prophecy,  to  blot  out  the  wickedness  of 
the  people.'15  Josephus  too  in  relating  the  story, 
does  not  betray  the  slightest  suspicion  that  it 
was  not  in  truth  the  soul  of  Samuel  conversing 
with  Saul.6  We  are  warranted  therefore  from 
this  circumstance,  not  only  in  drawing  an  infer- 
ence that  the  souls  of  the  departed  are  in  a  state 
of  consciousness,  but  also  that  this  was  an  article 
in  the  popular  creed  of  the  Jewish  nation.  In  the 
same  way  Moses  and  Eli  as  appeared  on  the  Mount 
of  Transfiguration,  and  "  talked  with  our  Lord," 
as  being  spirits  evidently  endowed  with  all  those 
powers  which  reason  teaches  us  must  belong  to 
them. 

The  same  truth  is  taught  by  the  Apostle  Paul, 
when  he  asserts — "  We  are  confident,  I  say,  r.nd 
willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and 
to  be  present,"  (or  conversant)  "  with  the  Lord." 
And  again  he  declares  —  "  For  I  am  in  a  strait 
betwixt  two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to 
be  with  Christ;  which  is  far  better."  He  thus 
plainly  shows  us,  that  the  righteous  when  "  absent 
from  the  body,"  are  not  in  a  state  of  insensibility, 

5  Eccles.  xlvi.  20. 

5  Antiq.  lib.  vi.,  ch.  15. 


EASTER  EVEN.  185 

hut  conversant  with  their  Lord  —  in  a  situation 
where  they  enjoy  a  degree  of  communion  with 
Him  which  they  can  not  have  while  still  in  this 
state  of  probation.  The  Apostle  did  not  indeed 
mean,  that  at  death  his  spirit  should  at  once  pass 
into  that  Heaven  to  which  his  Lord  had  ascended, 
for  in  another  place  he  speaks  of  "  the  crown  of 
righteousness  "  being  "  laid  up  for  him,"  not  to  be 
bestowed  until  that  Great  Day  when  his  Master 
should  sit  as  "  the  righteous  Judge,"  and  he  should 
receive  it  in  company  with  u  all  them  also  that 
love  His  appearing."  "  The  word  evSwrfau  should 
be  rendered  " — says  Dr.  Bloomfield— -u  not  to  be 
present  with,  but  (agreeably  to  the  metaphor,) 
to  be  at  home  with,  implying  communion  with 
Him."  Even  while  St.  Paul  was  alive,  he  was 
with  Christ,  and  Christ  was  with  him,  but  the 
felicity  for  which  he  hoped  at  death  was  a  nearer 
access  to  Him,  and  .a  greater  cornmtmication  of 
His  favor.  He  should  behold  His  glory,  though 
not  in  that  full  brightness  wherein  it  shall  be 
seen  at  the  day  of  His  final  appearing. 

This  brings  us  then  to  the  question  we  would 
investigate.  If  the  soul  is  to  be  in  a  state  of 
consciousness  when  it  has  left  the  body,  whither 


186  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

does  it  go  ?  Where  is  its  place  of  abode  ?  This 
inquiry  is  best  answered  by  considering  the  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  our  Lord's  death, 
since  we  are  to  follow  in  the  same  path  in  which 
He  trod.  Whither  then  did  His  soul  depart '( 
Can  we  believe  (as  Calvin  asserted,)  that  Pie 
went  down  to  the  place  of  torment,  and  there 
endured  the  pains  of  a  reprobate  soul  in  punish- 
ment.7 The  mind  shrinks  back  with  horror  at 
the  thought,  unsupported  as  the  notion  is  by  any 
intimation  in  Scripture,  and  directly  refuted  by 
our  Lord's  own  declaration  to  his  penitent  com- 
panion in  suffering.  Did  His  spirit  ascend  at 
once  to  Heaven,  and  remain  there  during  the 

T  "  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  contend  with  the  powers 

of  hell  and  the  horror  of  eternal  death 

Therefore  it  is  no  wonder,  if  he  be  said  to  have  descended 
into  hell,  since  he  suffered  that  death  which  the  wrath  of 

God  inflicts  on  transgressors The  relation 

of  those  sufferings  of  Christ,  which  were  visible  to  men, 
is  very  properly  followed  by  that  invisible  and  incompre- 
hensible vengeance  which  he  suffered  from  the  hand  of 
God ;  in  order  to  assure  us  that  not  only  the  body  of  Christ 
was  given  as  the  price  of  our  redemption,  but  that  tliere 
was  another  greater  and  more  excellent  ransom,  since  he 
suffered  in  his  soul  the  dreadful  torments  of  a  person  con- 
demned and  irretrievably  lost." — Institutes^  Jlooku.,  chap, 
xvi.,  sec.  10. 


MASTER   EVEN.  187 

three  days  which  intervened  before  His  resurrec- 
tion ?  This  could  not  be,  for  He  afterwards  said 
explicitly  to  Mary  Magdalene — "  Touch  me  not, 
for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father."  He 
remained  forty  days  with  His  disciples  upon  the 
earth,  before  He  departed  visibly  into  Heaven. 
The  necessary  conclusion  therefore  to  which  we 
must  come,  is  that  He  went  to  some  place  en- 
tirely distinct  either  from  the  Heaven  of  rest,  or 
the  prison  of  final  torment.  That  place  was 
Paradise,  as  He  declared  to  the  penitent  thief — 
"  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise." 

What  then  did  the  Jews  understand  by  Para- 
dise ?  We  reply — with  them  it  primarily  refer- 
red to  the  Garden  of  Eden,  where  Adam  dwelt 
in  his  state  of  innocence.  But  as  this  was  a 
type  of  all  that  was  pleasant  and  delightful,  they 
used  the  same  word  also  symbolically  to  repre- 
sent that  place  of  happiness  in  which  the  just 
await  their  resurrection.  "  Paradise  "  —  says 
Parkhurst  —  "  is  in  the  New  Testament,  applied 
to  the  state  of  faithful  souls  between  death  and 
the  resurrection."  Hence  it  was  the  solemn 
good  wish  of  the  Jews,  (as  we  learn  from  the 
Talmudists,)  concerning  a  departed  friend,  "  Let 


]88  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

his  soul  be  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,"  or  "  Let  his 
soul  be  gathered  into  the  Garden  of  Eden." 
And  in  their  prayers  for  a  dying  person,  they 
were  accustomed  to  say,  "  Let  him  have  his  por- 
tion in  Paradise,  and  also  in  the  world  to  come." 
In  this  form  u  Paradise "  and  "  the  world  to 
come,"  are  plainly  referred  to,  as  being  two 
separate  places  and  states  of  existence.8  The 
same  distinction  is  also  made  by  St.  Paul,  when 
in  speaking  of  different  visions  and  revelations 
he  had  received,  he  mentions  one  in  "  the  third 
Heaven,"  and  another  in  "  Paradise."9  Dr. 
Doddridge,  the  celebrated  Presbyterian  divine, 
in  his  Family  Expositor,  thus  paraphrases  this 
passage  —  "  Such  an  one,  I  say,  I  did  most  inti- 
mately know,  who  was  snatched  up  into  the 
third  Heaven,  the  seat  of  divine  glory  and  the 
place  where  Christ  dwelleth  at  the  Father's  right 
hand,  having  all  the  celestial  principalities  and 

powers  in  humble  subjection  to  him And 

I  know  that  having  been  entertained  with  these 
visions  of  the  third  Heaven,  on  which  good  men 
ire  to  enter  after  the  resurrection,  lest  he  should 

8  Bishop  BULL'S  Works,  vol.  i.,  p.  98. 
•  2  Cor.  xii.,  4,  6. 


EASTER   EVEN.  180 

be  impatient  under  the  delay  of  his  part  of  the 
glory  there,  he  was  also  caught  up  into  Paradise, 
that  garden  of  God,  which  is  tlie  seat  of  liappy 
spirits  in  the  intermediate  state,  and  during  their 
separation  from  the  body"  To  this  place  then  it 
was  that  our  Lord's  spirit  went,  and  there  He 
promised  that  His  suffering  companion  on  the 
Cross  should  be  also. 

"  Where'er  thou  roam'st,  one  happy  soul,  we  know, 

Seen  at  thy  side  in  woe, 
Waits  on  Thy  triumph  —  even  as  all  the  blest 

With  him  and  Thee  shall  rest. 
Each  on  his  cross,  by  Thee  we  hang  awhile, 

Watching  Thy  patient  smile, 
Till  we  have  learn' d  to  say,  '  'T  is  justly  done, 
Only  in  glory,  Lord,  Thy  sinful  servant  own.'  "10 

In  the  same  way,  while  Paradise  denotes  that 
portion  of  the  intermediate  state  which  was  allot- 
ted to  the  just,  there  was  also  a  part  in  whict 
the  condemned  awaited  in  misery  the  coming  oi 
the  day  of  doom.  This  was  known  by  the  name 
of  Tartarus.  The  'general  term  for  both  these 
places  was  the  Hebrew  word  Sheol,  or  as  it  is  in 
the  Greek,  Hades,  while  the  word  Gehenna  was 
used  to  signify  the  place  of  eternal  torments 

10  KEBLE'S  Easter  Eve. 


100  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

after  the  resurrection.11  By  translating  Hade$ 
therefore  by  the  English  word  Hell  in  our  Bibles, 
we  often  entirely  obscure  the  meaning.12  Such  is 
the  case  with  that  passage  in  the  sixteenth  Psalm 
which  refers  prophetically  to  our  Lord  —  "  For 
thou  wilt  not.  leave  my  soul  in  Hell,"  (that  is  in 
Hades,  or  the  intermediate  state,)  "  neither  wilt 
thou  suffer  thy  Holy  One  to  see  corruption." 
This  text  indeed  shows  so  plainly,  that  while 
our  Lord's  body  was  in  the  grave,  His  soul  was 
in  some  place  called  Hades,  "  that  none  but  an 
infidel" — saith  St.  Augustin  —  "can  deny  it." 
It  is  in  Hades  that  Isaiah  has  placed  that  strange 

11  As  the  object  of  the  writer  is  to  give,  if  possible,  a 
simple  and  popular  view  of  this  subject,  which  is  so  little 
understood,  a  critical  investigation  of  the  meaning  of  these 
words  would  be  out  of  place  in  these  pages.     The  reader 
will  find  this  examination  carried  out  in  Bishop  Hobart's 
"*rork  on  the  State  of  the  Departed. 

12  "  It  is  a  great  pity,"  —  says  Wall,  (Hist.  Inf.  Bup., 
part-  IT.,  chap,  viii.,) — "  that  the  English  translators  of  the 
Creed  and  of  the  Bible,  did  not  keep  the  word  Hades  in 
the  translation,  as  they  have  done  some  original  words 
which  had  no  English   words  answering  to  them.      By 
translating  it  Hell,  and  the  English  having  no  other  word 
for  Gehenna  (which  is  the  place  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  the  damned,)  than  the  same  word  Hell  likewise,  it 
has  created  a  confusion  in  the  understanding  of  English 
readers." 


EASTER   EVEN.  191 

dramatic  scene,  which  is  found  in  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  his  prophecies.  As  Homer  in  the 
Odyssey  (lib.  xxiv.)  sends  the  souls  of  the  suitors 
to  Hades,  where  they  meet  the  spirits  of  Achilles, 
Agamemnon,  and  the  other  Grecian  heroes  they 
had  known  in  life,  the  Hebrew  prophet  with  the 
higher  inspiration  of  truth,  has  given  a  descrip- 
tion which  for  its  inimitable  grandeur  nothing  in 
the  pages  of  classical  antiquity  can  equal.  He 
shows  the  proud  King  of  Babylon,  after  he  had 
been  brought  to  the  grave,  entering  SJteol,  while 
the  monarchs  of  the  earth  who  had  preceded  him 
to  the  land  of  spirits,  are  poetically  represented 
as  rising  from  their  seats  at  his  approach,  greet- 
ing him  with  bitter  scorn — 

"  Hades  (Sheol)  from  beneath  is  moved  because  of  thee, 

to  meet  thee  at  thy  coming : 
He  roused  up  for  thee  the  mighty  dead,  all  the  great  chiefs 

of  the  Earth : 
He  maketh  to  rise  up  from  their  thrones,  all  the  kings  of 

the  nations. 

All  of  them  shall  accost  thee,  and  shall  say  unto  thee : 
Art  thou,  even  thou  too,  become  weak  as  we  ?     Art  thou 

made  like  unto  us  ? 
Is  then  thy  pride  brought  down  to  the  grave ;  the  sound 

of  thy  sprightly  instruments  ? 
Is  the  vermin  become  thy  couch,  and  the  earthworm  thy 

covering  ? 


192  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

How  art  thou  fallen  from  Heaven,  O  Lucifer,  son  of  the 

morning  ? 
Art   cut   down    to    earth,    thou   that   didst    subdue    tho 

nations  ?"13 


It  is  in  Tartarus  that  the  fallen  angels  also 
await  their  sentence.  St.  Peter  tells  us  —  "  God 
Rpared  not  the  angels  that  sinned,  but  cast  them 
down  to  Hell  (Tartarus^)  and  delivered  them 
into  chains  of  darkness,  to  be  reserved  unto  judg- 
ment." And  St.  Jude  says — "  The  angels  which 
kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own 
habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains 
under  darkness  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day."  In  Tartarus  too  was  the  rich  man,  while 
Lazarus  was  in  Paradise.  Dr.  Campbell,  another 
learned  Presbyterian  divine,  and  formerly  Prin- 
cipal of  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen,  says  — 
u  There  is  no  inconsistency  in  maintaining  that 
the  rich  man,  though  in  torment,  was  not  in 
Gehenna,  but  in  that  part  of  Hades  called  Tar- 
tarus,  where  we  have  seen  already  that  spirits 
reserved  for  judgment  are  detained  in  darkness. 

According  to  this  explication,  the  rich 

man  and  Lazarus  were  both  in  Hades }  though  in 

18  Hisho}  LOAVTH'S  translation. 


EASTER   EVEN.  193 

very  different  situations,  the  latter  in  the  man- 
sions of  the  happy,  and  the  former  in  those  of  the 
wretched."14 

14  Prelim.  Dis.  vi.,  part  2.  As  the  charge  is  often  made 
against  the  Church,  that  she  retains  this  Popish  doctrine, 
we  quote  occasionally  from  distinguished  Presbyterian 
writers,  showing  that  they  also  have  been  forced  to 
acknowledge  its  truth.  On  this  point,  no  one  is  more 
explicit  than  President  Dwight  of  Yale  College.  In  his 
system  of  Theology,  (Sermon  clxiv.)  he  says — "  There  can, 
I  apprehend,  be  no  reasonable  doubt  concerning  an  inter- 
mediate state.  St.  Peter  says  of  the  angels  that  sinned, 
that  '  God  cast  them  down  to  Hell,  and  delivered  them 
into  chains  of  darkness,  to  be  reserved  unto  judgment.' 
St.  Jude  also  declares  them  '  to  be  reserved,'  in  like  man- 
ner, c  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.'  From  these 
declarations  it  is  manifest,  that  fallen  angels  have  not  yet 
received  their  final  judgment,  nor,  of  course,  their  final 
reward.  This,  indeed,  seems  evident  from  the  phraseology 
used  by  St.  Peter,  as  well  as  by  the  declarations  of  botli 
him  and  St.  Jude.  The  word  which  is  rendered  from  St. 
Peter,  '  cast  them  down  to  Hell,'  is  in  the  Greek  rapTapcjtfa^; 
literally  rendered,  'cast  them  down  to  Tartarus.'  '  While 
this  phraseology  plainly  declares  a  place  of  punishment,  it 
indicates  directly  a  different  state  from  that,  which  is 
taught  by  the  word  ysswa,  (Gehenna,)  the  appropriate 
name  of  Hell  in  the  Scriptures.  After  the  rich  man  died 
and  was  buried,  it  is  said  by  our  Saviour,  '  he  lifted  up  his 
eyes  in  Hell,  being  in  torments;  in  the  Greek,  sv  <rw  £&?, 

in  Hades The  state,  in  which  Lazarus  was  placed, 

is  denoted  elsewhere  by  the  word  Paradise.  '  To-day,1 
said  our  Saviour  to  the  thief  on  the  cross,  'thou  shalt  be 


194  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

The  manner  in  which  the  general  judgment  13 
always  mentioned,  may  well  confirm  our  belief 
in  the  doctrine  of  an  intermediate  state.  "When 
is  there  to  be  "  rendered  to  every  man  according 
to  his  works  ? "  When,  in  other  words,  is  each 
one  to  reap  his  full  retribution?  Is  it  the  mo- 
ment he  has  passed  the  gates  of  death  and  put  off 
this  mortal  body  ?  This  would  be  by  no  means 
in  accordance  with  the  declarations  of  Holy  Writ. 
If  we  examine  its  promises,  we  shall  meet  with 
no  offer  of  perfect  blessedness  which  is  to  be  ful- 
filled before  our  Lord's  second  coming.  He  him- 
self on  one  occasion  declared  —  "  Thou  shalt  be 
recompensed  "  -  when  ?  "  at  the  resurrection  of 
the  just."  The  final  reward  of  the  righteous  is 

with  me  in  Paradise.'  But  we  know  from  our  Saviour's 
own  declaration,  that  when  he  gave  up  the  ghost  on  the 
cross,  his  spirit  went  not  to  Hell,  but  to  Hades  or  A'//,  <>l, 

'.  .     The  thief  therefore  went  to  the  state  which  is 

denoted  by  this  word,  and  not  to  that  which  is  denoted  by 
Heaven,  unless  this  world  is  supposed  to  include  Heaven.-' 
We  might  also  bring  forward  the  opinions  of  distin- 
guished divines  of  other  denominations.  For  example, 
John  Wesley,  the  founder  of  the  Methodist  Society,  avows 
the  doctrine  clearly  in  his  Notes  on  the  New  T<*t<i>u<  at. 
See  on  Luke  xxiii.,  43.  2  Cor.  xii.,  4.  Rev.  i.,  18.  Rev. 
xx.,  15.  So  also  one  of  his  followers,  Dr.  Adam  Clark. 
See  iii  his  Commentary  on  Ileb.  xi.,  40.  Rev.  xv.,  13.  14 


EASTER  EVEN.  193 

always  referred  to  the  last  day,  at  "  the  glorious 
appearing  of  the  great  God,  and  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ"  —  "when  Christ  who  is  our  life 
shall  appear "  — "  when  the  Son  of  Man  shall 
come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father,  with  His  holy 
angels."  Then  it  is  that  He  shall  recognize  His 
faithful  followers  before  an  assembled  universe, 
and  receive  them  to  reign  with  Himself  in  glory. 
It  is  not  indeed  until  the  solemn  scenes  of  the 
judgment  are  over,  that  His  own  chosen  Apostles 
will  be  admitted  to  that  place,  where  they  shall 
enjoy  in  its  fullness,  the  presence  of  Him  in  whose 
footsteps  they  followed  on  earth.  His  declaration 
was — "  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if 
I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come 
again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I 
am  there  you  may  be  also."  But  the  time  of  His 
promised  return  has  not  yet  arrived.  His  follow- 
ers have  not  yet  entered  into  their  final  rest,  nor 
will  they,  until  He  "  comes  again  to  receive  them 
unto  Himself." 

Still  stronger  is  the  inference  to  be  drawn 
from  that  declaration  of  St.  Paul — "  For  this  we 
say  unto  you  by  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  we 
which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of 


196  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

(he  Lord  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are  asleep, 
For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  Heaven 
with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God ;  and  the  dead  in 
Christ  shall  rise  first.  Then  we,  which  are  alive 
and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up  together  with 
them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air : 
and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord."15  Here 
is  an  explicit  account  of  the  order  in  which  each 
event  shall  take  place  at  the  last  judgment.  We 
learn  from  it  then,  that  none  have  as  yet  entered 
into  Heaven.  If  it  were  not  so,  but  the  just,  as 
each  individual  soul  passed  from  the  earth,  had 
gone  at  once  to  that  place  of  glory,  what  mean- 
ing would  there  be  in  the  Apostle's  declaration, 
that  "  they  which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the 
corning  of  the  Lord  shall  not  prevent,"  that  is, 
anticipate,  or  go  into  Heaven  before,  "  them  that 
are  asleep,"  that  is,  the  dead !  This  assurance 
certainly  would  be  useless,  if  the  departed  at  the 
hour  of  death,  had  each  entered  into  his  final  rest. 
But  the  Lord  must  first  descend  from  Heaven  - 
then,  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  be  raised  —  then, 
those  who  are  at  that  time  living  on  the  earth, 
15  1  I'hess.  iv.,  15,  1G,  17. 


EASTER   EVEN.  197 

shall  be  caught  up  to  meet  their  Judge  —  and 
then  the  army  of  the  ransomed  shall  together  go 
in  to  their  reward.  "  And  so,"  that  is,  after  all 
these  things  have  taken  place,  "  shall  be  ever 
with  the  Lord."  What  can  be  more  clear  than 
the  order  in  which  these  events  are  here  laid 
down. 

In  the  Apocalyptic  Vision,  St.  John  represents 
the  ancient  martyrs  as  resting  in  the  Paradise  of 
God,  awaiting  their  reward  until  their  brethren 
from  the  earth  have  joined  them,  that  together 
they  may  enter  the  celestial  city.  "  I  saw  under 
the  altar,  the  souls  of  them  that  were  slain  for 
the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  which 
they  held :  and  they  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying,  How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost 
thou  not  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth  ?  And  white  robes  were  given  unto 
every  one  of  them ;  and  it  was  said  unto  them, 
that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until 
their  fellow  servants  also  and  their  brethren,  that 
should  be  killed  as  they  were,  should  be  ful- 
filled."16 Their  happiness  was  incomplete.  They 
are  "  under  the  altar  "  —  not  in  the  full  presence 

16  Rev.  vi.,  9,  10,  11. 


198  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

of  God,  but  in  a  safe  and  holy  place.  Their  por- 
tion is  not  yet  that  of  perfect  bliss,  but  only  ot 
tranquility  and  peace.  They  are  not  serving  God 
actively,  as  do  the  angels,  but  are  at  rest,  await- 
ing their  call  to  judgment  and  to  Heaven.  Anx- 
iously do  they  look  forward  to  the  day  which  is 
to  introduce  them  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord,  and 
therefore  their  inquiry  is,  "  How  long,  O  Lord, 
holy  and  true  ?"  But  they  are  told,  that  they 
must  "  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,"  until  the  circle 
of  the  martyrs  is  completed,  and  the  number  of 
the  elect  gathered  in ;  that  thus,  in  the  harvest 
time  of  the  earth,  all  who  had  suffered  in  the 
great  cause  of  man's  redemption  —  the  sowers 
and  the  reapers  in  the  world's  wide  field — might 
all  rejoice  together.  Yet  in  the  meanwhile,  to 
comfort  them  in  this  state  of  expectation,  and  as 
some  little  earnest  of  the  promise,  "  white  robes 
were  given  unto  every  one  of  them."17 

It  is  singular,  that  exactly  the  same  idea  is 
given  in  the  Apocryphal  Book  of  Esdras,  where 
after  the  writer  had  made  inquiry  of  the  angel 
with  regard  to  the  mysteries  of  the  world  to 
come,  he  receives  this  reply — "Did  not  the  souls 

17  See  NEWMAN'S  Sermon  on  this  passage,  vol.  iii.,  p.  399. 


EASTER   EVEN.  199 

also  of  the  righteous  ask  question  of  these  things 
in  their  chambers,  saying,  How  long  shall  I  hope 
on  this  fashion?  When  cometh  the  fruit  of  the 
floor  of  our  reward  ?  And  unto  these  things 
Uriel  the  archangel  gave  them  answer,  and  said, 
Even  when  the  number  of  seeds  is  filled  in  you  " 
—  that  is,  when  the  number  of  the  elect  is  accom- 
plished.18 

13  Esdras,  iv.,  35.  36.  Dr.  Macknight,  another  cele- 
brated Presbyterian  divine,  supports  the  same  views. 
For  instance,  in  his  commentary  on  Heb.  xi.,  39,  40,  he 
says — "  The  Apostle's  doctrine,  that  believers  are  all  to  be 
rewarded  together  and  at  the  same  time,  is  agreeable  to 
Christ's  declaration,  who  told  His  disciples  that  they  were 
not  to  come  to  the  place  He  was  going  away  to  prepare 
for  them,  till  He  returned  from  Heaven  to  carry  them  to 
it  (John  xiv.,  3.)  Further,  that  the  righteous  are  not  to 
be  rewarded  till  the  end  of  the  world,  is  evident  from 
Christ's  words  (Matt,  xiii.,  40,  43.)  In  like  manner  St. 
Peter  hath  told  us,  that  the  righteous  are  to  be  made  glad 
with  their  reward  at  the  revelation  of  Christ  (1  Pet.  iv., 
13.)  John  also  tells  us,  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we 
shall  be  made  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is 
(1  John  iii.,  2.)  This  determination,  not  to  reward  the 
ancients  without  us,  is  highly  proper,  because  the  power 
and  veracity  of  God  will  be  more  illustriously  displayed  in 
the  view  of  angels  and  men,  by  raising  the  whole  of  Abra- 
ham's seed  from  the  dead  at  once,  and  by  introducing 
them  into  the  heavenly  country  in  a  body,  after  the  public 
acquittal  at  the  judgment  •  than  if  each  were  made  perfect 
separately  at  their  death." 


200  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

Another  strong  proof  from  Scripture  is  found 
in  that  mysterious  declaration  of  St.  Peter,  with 
regard  to  our  Lord — "  Being  put  to  death  in  the 
flesh,  but  quickened  by  the  Spirit;  by  which  also 
He  went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison, 
which  sometime  were  disobedient,  when  once 
the  long  suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of 
Noah."  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  ex- 
plain away  this  text,  yet  when  carefully  analyzed, 
its  natural  rendering  seems  to  present  a  full  con- 
firmation of  the  doctrine  of  an  intermediate  state. 
The  most  masterly  discussion  of  it  is  given  by 
Bishop  Horsley,1' where  he  proves  conclusively, 
tli at  in  its  interpretation  by  the  ancient  Church, 
it  was  always  referred  to  the  descent  of  our  Lord 
into  the  place  of  departed  spirits.  Let  us  then 
as  briefly  as  possible  follow  his  train  of  reasoning 
in  the  explanation  of  this  verse. 

The  meaning  of  the  whole  passage  turns  upon 
the  interpretation  we  give  to  the  words  "  spirits 
in  prison."  "  The  invisible  mansion  of  departed 
spirits  "  —  says  Bishop  Horsley  —  "  though  cer- 
tainly not  a  place  of  penal  confinement  to  tht^ 
g  >od,  is  nevertheless  in  some  respects  a  prison, 

19  HOKSLEY'S  Sermons,  vol.  ii.,  p.  86,  Serin,  xx. 


EASTER   EVEN.  201 

It  is  a  place  of  seclusion  from  the  external  world, 
a  place  of  unfinished  happiness,  consisting  in  rest, 
security,  and  hope,  rather  than  enjoyment.  It 
is  a  place  which  the  souls  of  men  never  would 
have  entered,  had  not  sin  introduced  death,  and 
from  which  there  is  no  exit  by  any  natural  means 
for  those  who  have  once  entered.  The  deliver- 
ance of  the  saints  from  it  is  to  be  effected  by  our 
Lord's  power.  As  a  place  of  confinement,  there- 
fore, though  not  of  punishment,  it  may  well  be 
called  a  prison.  The  original  word  however  in 
this  text  imports  not  of  necessity  so  much  as  this 
but  merely  a  place  of  safe  keeping :  for  so  this 
passage  might  be  rendered  with  great  exactness. 
He  went  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in  safe  keep- 
ing. And  the  invisible  mansion  of  departed 
spirits  is  to  the  righteous  a  place  of  safe  keeping, 
where  they  are  preserved  under  the  shadow  of 
God's  right  hand,  as  their  condition  sometimes  is 
described  in  Scripture,  till  the  season  shall  arrive 
for  their  advancement  to  future  glory;  as  the 
souls  of  the  wicked,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
reserved  in  the  other  division  of  the  same  place, 
unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.  Now  if 
Christ  went  and  preached  to  souls  of  men  thus 


202  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

in  prison,  or  in  safe  keeping,  surely  He  went  to 
the  prison  of  those  souls,  or  to  the  place  of  their 
custody ;  and  what  place  that  should  be  but  the 
Hell  of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  to  which  our  Lord 
descended,  I  have  not  met  with  the  critic  that 
could  explain.  The  souls  in  custody,  or  in  prison, 
to  whom  our  Saviour  went  in  His  disembodied 
soul  and  preached,  were  those  which  formerly 
were  disobedient.  The  expression  formerly  were, 
or  one  wliile  had  been  disobedient,  implies,  that 
they  were  recovered  from  that  disobedience,  and, 
before  their  death,  had  been  brought  to  repent- 
ance and  faith  in  the  Redeemer  to  come.  To 
such  souls  He  went  and  preached." 

The  meaning  of  the  sentence,  "  being  put  to 
death  in  the  flesh,  but  quickened  by  the  Spirit." 
must  also  claim  our  attention.  The  word  "  Spirit," 
is  here  used  in  antithesis  to  the  one  translated 
"  flesh."  If  therefore  the  latter  refers,  as  it  ne- 
cessarily does,  to  that  part  of  our  Lord's  nature 
on  which  alone  death  could  take  effect,  that  is, 
his  body;  the  former  must  refer  to  that  part  over 
which  the  Destroyer  had  no  power,  that  is,  his 
soul.  And  as  the  word  "quickened"  is  often 
used  to  signify,  not  merely  a  restoration  of  life 


EASTER   EVEN.  203 

which  has  been  extinguished,  but  the  preserva- 
tion of  life  which  then  subsists,  the  Apostle's 
words  may  be  well  rendered  —  "  Being  put  to 
death  in  the  flesh,  but  quick  in  the  Spirit,"  that 
is,  surviving  in  His  soul  the  stroke  of  death  which 
His  body  had  sustained,  "  by  which,"  or  rather 
"  in  which,"  that  is,  in  which  surviving  soul,  "  he 
went  and  preached  to  the  souls  of  men  in  safe 
keeping."  Such  is  the  rendering  given  by  Mr. 
Polwhele  in  his  Essay  on  the  State  of  tlie  Soul 
after  Death.  "  The  original  words  "  -  he  says 
-  u  are  very  strong  and  decisive.  Literally  sig- 
nifying, '  dead  in  His  body '  —  c  lighted  up  with 
new  life  in  His  soul.'  Escaped  from  the  burden 
of  His  mortal  body,  His  soul  was  animated  with 
a  more  ardent  vivacity  —  was  rendered  capable 
of  more  powerful  energies,  and  with  a  life  thus 
kindled  into  a  brighter  flame,  He  went  and 
preached  to  the  spirits  whose  bodies  had  perished 
in  the  deluge." 

Another  point  with  reference  to  this  text  re- 
mains to  be  inquired  into  —  why  are  the  ante- 
diluvians especially  mentioned  as  being  those  to 
whom  this  preaching  was  addressed  ?  Were  not 
the  souls  of  all  who  since  their  day  had  died  in 


204  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

penitence,  equally  interested  in  our  Lord's  mes- 
sage ?  u  To  tliis  I  can  only  answer "  —  says 
Bishop  Horsley — "  that  I  think  I  have  observed, 
in  some  parts  of  Scripture,  an  anxiety,  if  the  ex- 
pression may  be  allowed,  of  the  sacred  writei-s 
to  convey  distinct  intimations  that  the  antedilu- 
vian race  is  not  uninterested  in  the  redemption 

and  the  final  retribution It  may  lie 

conceived,  that  the  souls  of  those  who  died  in  the 
dreadful  visitation  of  the  deluge  might  from  that 
circumstance  have  peculiar  apprehensions  of  them- 
selves, as  the  marked  victims  of  divine  vengeance, 
and  might  peculiarly  need  the  consolation  which 
the  preaching  of  our  Lord  in  the  subterranean 
regions  afforded  to  these  prisoners  of  hope." 

Did  He  then  publish  those  lofty  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel,  which  now  form  the  themes  of  His 
earthly  ministers  —  the  obligation  of  repentance 
and  faith,  by  which  the  children  of  this  world 
are  summoned  to  their  Lord  ?  We  answer,  no— 
for  He  was  not  offering  a  new  period  of  proba- 
tion to  the  generation  which  died  "  in  the  days 
of  Noah."  Their  condition  for  Eternity  was  set- 
tled, when  the  rushing  flood  overwhelmed  them, 
and  they  perished  amid  the  ruins  of  the  Elder 


EASTER  EVEN.  205 

world.  Yet  might  He  not  have  proclaimed  to 
those,  who  having  died  in  penitence,  had  been 
thus  waiting  and  watching  for  ages,  that  at  length 
the  mighty  sacrifice  was  offered  up  —  that  He 
had  finished  the  work  of  redemption  —  and  was 
now  going  to  plead  as  their  Intercessor  before 
His  Father's  throne  ?  Might  He  not  thus  give 
assurance  to  the  hope,  to  which  for  so  long  a 
time  they  had  been  cleaving  ?  We  see  nothing 
improbable  in  the  idea. 

Such  then  is  the  analysis  and  rendering  of  this 
passage,  in  which  the  most  celebrated  divines 
agree.  If  they  have  interpreted  it  aright,  it 
proves  most  conclusively  the  fact  of  the  descent 
into  Hades.  And  through  many  ages  of  tho 
Church,  this  text  was  relied  upon  as  a  principal 
foundation  of  this  Catholic  doctrine.  St.  Austin 
is  stated  to  have  been  the  first  writer  who  ven- 
tured to  doubt  that  this  was  the  literal  sense  of 
St.  Peter's  declaration.  In  the  Articles  of  Reli- 
gion adopted  at  the  Convention  held  in  1552, 
the  sixth  year  of  Edward  VI.,  and  published  by 
the  King's  authority  in  the  following  year,  the 
third  article  is  in  these  words — "As  Christ  die  1 
and  was  buried  for  us,  so  also  it  is  to  be  believed 


203  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

that  He  went  down  into  Hell ;  for  the  body  lay 
in  the  sepulchre  until  the  resurrection,  but  His 
ghost  departing  from  Him,  was  with  the  ghosts 
that  were  in  prison,  or  in  Hell,  as  the  place  of  St. 
Peter  doth  testify."  When  however,  ten  years 
later,  in  the  fifth  year  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  were  adopted  in  their  present 
form,  while  Christ's  descent  into  Hell  was  still 
asserted,  the  proof  of  it  from  this  text  of  St.  Peter 
was  omitted.20  We  think  however,  that  the 
Church  by  setting  forth  this  passage  in  the  Epis- 
tle for  Easter  Even,  seems  to  imply  that  it  should 
be  rendered  as  referring  to  our  Lord's  soul,  par- 
ticularly as  it  is  followed  by  the  Gospel,  which 
describes  so  clearly  the  condition  of  the  other 
part  of  His  nature. 

We  will  present  one  more  passage  from  Scrip- 
ture. In  Rev.  xx.,  13,  14,  we  find  this  description 
given  of  the  conclusion  of  all  things  earthly — 
the  final  triumph  of  the  human  race  over  death — 
and  the  abandonment  forever  of  the  intermediate 
state.  "  And  Death  and  Hell  (Hades)  delivered 
ap  the  dead  which  were  in  them ;  and  they  were 
judged  every  man  according  to  their  works. 

40  Bishop  HOESELEY,  vol.  ii.,  p.  99 


EASTER   EVEN.  207 

And  Death  and  Hell  (Ilade-s)  were  cast  into  the 
lake  of  fire.  This  is  the  second  death."  By  this 
sublime  personification  it  is  clearly  stated,  that 
Death  shall  deliver  up  the  bodies,  and  Hades 
the  spirits  which  were  subject  to  their  dominion, 
and  that  then  the  latter  shall  be  destroyed.  Di 
Thos.  Scott  in  his  Commentary,  thus  paraphrased, 
this  passage  — "  The  grave,  and  separate  state, 
will  give  up  the  bodies  and  souls  contained  in 
them,  so  that  the  whole  multitude,  which  shall 

have  lived  upon  earth shall  experience  a 

reunion  of  their  souls  with  their  bodies.  Then 
Death  and  Hell,  the  grave  and  the  separate  state 
(represented  as  two  persons,)  will  c  be  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire ;'  that  is,  they  shall  subsist  no 
longer,  to  receive  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men; 
there  shall  be  no  death  in  Heaven ;  and  all  the 
wicked  will  be  cast  into  the  place  of  torment,  in 
which  death  and  the  separate  state  will  be  swal- 
lowed up :  for  '  this  is  the  second  death,'  the  final 
separation  of  sinners  from  God,  withont  hopes  of 
being  restored  to  His  favor,  or  delivered  from 
His  wrath."  Dr.  Campbell  (the  same  Presbyte- 
rian divine  from  whom  we  have  already  quoted,) 
thus  renders  it  —  "  The  death  which  consists  in 


208  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

the  separation  of  the  soul  from  the  body,  and 
the  state  of  souls  intervening  between  death  and 
judgment  shall  be  no  more.  To  the  wicked,  these 
shall  be  succeeded  by  a  more  terrible  death,  the 
second  death,  the  damnation  of  Gehenna,  Hell 
properly  so  called.  Indeed,  in  this  sacred  book, 
the  commencement,  as  well  as  the  destruction  of 
this  intermediate  state,  are  so  clearly  marked,  as 
to  render  it  impossible  to  mistake  them.  In 
chap,  vi.,  8,  we  learn  that  Hades  follows  close  at 
the  heels  of  death.  '  And  I  looked,  and  behold, 
a  pale  horse,  and  his  name  that  sat  on  him  was 
Death,  and  Hell  (Hades)  followed  with  him.' 
From  this  passage,  in  chap,  xx.,  we  learn  also,  that 
both  are  involved  in  one  common  ruin  at  the  uni- 
versal judgment." 

Such  is  a  brief  statement  of  the  Scripture  argu- 
ment for  this  doctrine.  We  now  pass  on  to  the 
consideration,  that  it  ha*  arrays,  even  from  Pri- 
mitive Thae*,  been  an  Article  of  Faith  in  the 
Catholic  Chiu-cJi.  The  learned  Bingham  expli- 
citly declares  it  to  have  been  the  belief  of  the 
early  Church,  that  "  the  soul  is  but  in  an  imper- 
fect state  of  happiness  till  the  Resurrection, 
when  the  whole  man  shall  obtain  a  complete 


EASTER   EVEN.  209 

victory  over  death,  and  by  the  last  judgment  be 
established  in  an  endless  state  of  consummate 
happiness  and  glory."21 

St.  Clement,  of  whom  the  .Apostle  Paul  speaks 
as  his  "  fellow  laborer,  whose  name  is  in  the, 
Book  of  Life,"  thus  writes  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  —  "  All  the  generations  from  Adam 
to  this  day  are  past  and  gone,  but  they  that 
have  finished  their  course  in  charity,  according 
to  the  grace  of  Christ,  possess  the  region  of  the 
godly,  who  shall  be  manifested  in  the  visitation 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  For  it  is  written, 
4  Enter  into  thy  chambers,  for  a  very  little  while, 
till  my  wrath  and  fury  be  passed  over,  and  I  will 
remember  the  good  day,  and  will  raise  you  again 
out  of  your  graves.'  "22 

Justin  Martyr,  who  lived  about  the  middle  of 
the  second  century,  in  his  dialogue  with  Trypho, 
among  the  Catholic  doctrines  taught  him  when 
he  first  became  a  Christian,  delivers  this  for 
one  —  "That  the  souls  of  the  godly,  (after  death 
till  the  resurrection,)  remain  in  a  certain  better 
region,  and  unrighteous  and  wicked  souls  in  an 

21  Grig.  Eccles.,  lib.  xv.,  chap.  3,  sec.  16. 

22  Patres  Ajws.  Cotel.,  vol.  i.,  p.  276. 


210  TIIK   LKNTEN   FAST. 

evil  one."  And  in  the  very  same  book  he  con- 
demns as  an  error  in  the  Gnostics,  their  holding 
the  belief — u  That  as  soon  as  they  die,  their  souls 
are  received  up  into  Heaven."23 

Similar  to  this  is  the  testimony  of  Irenseus, 
who  lived  also  in  the  second  century.  In  argu- 
ing against  some  ancient  heretics,  who  held, 
that  when  they  died  their  souls  went  at  once  to 
Heaven,  he  urges  against  them,  the  example  of 
our  Saviour,  "  who,"  says  he,  "  observed  in  Him- 
self the  law  of  dead  persons,  and  did  not  pre- 
sently after  His  death  go  to  Heaven,  but  stayed 

three  days  in  the  place  of  the  dead 

Whereas  then  our  Lord  went  into  the  midst  of 
the  shadow  of  death,  where  the  souls  of  deceased 
persons  abode,  and  then  afterwards  rose  again  in 
the  body,  and  was  after  his  resurrection  taken 
up  to  Heaven,  it  is  plain  that  the  souls  of  His 
disciples,  for  whose  sake  the  Lord  did  these  things, 
shall  go  likewise  to  that  invisible  place  appointed 
to  them  by  God,  and  there  abide  till  the  resurrec- 
tion, waiting  for  the  time  thereof;  and  afterward 
receiving  their  bodies,  and  rising  again  perfectly, 
i.  e.  in  their  bodies  as  our  Lord  did,  shall  so 

23  Bishop  BULL,  vol.  i.,  p.  110. 


EASTER  EVEN.  211 

come  to  the  sight  of  God."24  Again,  in  his  fifth 
Book,  he  expressly  distinguishes  Paradise  from 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  reckons  it  a  lower 
degree  of  happiness  "  to  enjoy  the  delights  of 
Paradise,"  than  "  to  be  counted  worthy  to  dwell 
in  Heaven."  But  yet  he  acknowledges  that  the 
Saviour  shall  be  seen  in  both,  "  according  as  they 
shall  be  worthy  or  meet  who  see  Him."  And  he 
concludes  the  chapter  with  the  declaration,  "  that 
those  that  are  saved  shall  proceed  by  degrees  to 
their  perfect  beatitude."  That  is,  that  they  shall, 
as  St.  Ambrose  says,  "  through  the  refreshments 
of  Paradise,  arrive  at  the  full  glories  of  the  Hea- 
venly kingdom."25 

Tertullian,  who  lived  at  the  close  of  the  second 
century,  calls  Paradise,  "  a  place  of  divine  plea- 
santness, appointed  to  receive  the  spirits  of  the 
saints."26  He  says  also,  "  Heaven  is  not  yet  open 
to  any,  the  earth,  or  Hell,  being  yet  shut,  but 
that  at  the  end  of  the  world,  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  shall  be  unlocked."  Again  —  "  All  souls 
are  in  Hell  (Hades  ^)  that  there  are  both  punish- 


24  WALL  on  Inf.  JBap.,  part  ii.,  chap.  8. 

25  Bishop  BULL,  pp.  Ill,  112. 

26  Ibid.  p.  112. 


212  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

ments  and  rewards,  that  both  Dives  and  Lazarus 
are  there,  that  the  soul  is  both  punished  and 
comforted  in  Hell  (Hades ',)  in  expectation  of  the 
future  judgment."27  And  even  after  he  had  fallen 
into  the  heresy  of  the  Montanists,  he  was  obliged 
to  admit  this  to  be  a  Catholic  doctrine,  "  that 
the  good  souls  in  that  subterranean  region,  do 
enjoy  a  happiness  not  to  be  despised,  that  they 
do  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham  receive  the  comfort 
of  the  Resurrection  to  come,  that  is,  that  they 
are  at  present  in  a  state  of  rest  and  happiness, 
and  live  in  a  sure  and  certain  hope  of  a  greater 
happiness  at  the  resurrection.'*28 

In  the  same  way,  the  author  of  Questions  and 
Answers  to  the  Orthodox,  (who  is  supposed  to 
have  lived  in  the  fourth  century.)  in  his  reply  to 
the  seventy-fifth  question,  having  said  that  in  this 
]ife  there  is  no  difference  as  to  worldly  concerns, 
between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  imme- 
diately adds  —  "  But  after  death,  presently  the 
righteous  are  separated  from  the  unrighteous. 
For  they  are  carried  by  angels  into  their  meet 
places.  And  the  souls  of  the  righteous  are  con- 

27  Lord  KING'S  Hist,  of  Apos.  Creed,  p.  114. 

28  Bishop  Bull,  p.  113. 


EASTER  EVEN.  213 

veyed  into  Paradise,  where  they  enjoy  the  con- 
versation and  sight  of  Angels  and  Archangels, 
and  of  oar  Saviour  Christ  also  by  way  of  vision : 
according  to  what  is  said,  when  we  are  absent 
from  the  body,  we  are  present  with  the  Lord. 
But  the  souls  of  the  unrighteous  are  carried  to 
the  infernal  regions,  &c.  And  they,  (that  is, 
both  sorts  of  souls,)  are  kept  in  their  meet  places 
till  the  day  of  the  Resurrection  and  recom- 
pense."29 

Novatian,  in  the  third  century,  says — "  Those 
places  which  lie  under  the  earth,  are  not  empty 
of  distinguished  and  ordered  powers ;  for  that  is 
the  place  whither  the  souls  both  of  the  godly 
and  ungodly  are  led,  receiving  the  forejudgment 
of  their  future  doom."  Lactantius,  of  the  same 
century,  says  —  "  None  should  think,  that  souls 
were  immediately  judged  after  death;  for  they 
are  all  detained  in  one  common  custody,  till  the 
time  shall  come  when  the  greatest  Judge  shall 
examine  their  respective  merits."  Hilary,  in  the 
middle  of  the  fourth  century,  says  —  "  It  is  the 
necessary  law  of  nature,  that  bodies  should  be 
buried,  and  that  souls  should  descend  into  hell 

29  Bishop  BULL,  p.  123. 


214  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

where  they  are  reserved  for  an  entrance  into  the 
Heavenly  kingdom  by  the  custody  of  the  Lord, 
to  wit,  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  unto  which  a 
great  gulf  hinders  the  wicked  from  approach- 
ing."30 Such  indeed  is  the  uniform  testimony  of 
the  Fathers  of  the  early  Church.  They  believed 
not  that  the  departed  had  already  entered  into 
the  perfect  bliss  of  Heaven,  but,  (in  the  words  of 
St.  Chrysostom,)  "  that  they  will  not  be  crowned 
before  us,  God  having  appointed  one  time  of  cor- 
onation for  all." 

On  this  doctrine  also  were  founded  those 
Commendatory  Prayers  for  the  dead,  which  were 
used  in  the  ancient  Liturgies.  These,  known  by 
the  names  of  St.  Peter's,  St.  James's,  St.  Mark's, 
(or  St.  Cyril's,)  and  St.  John's  Liturgy,  were 
used  in  the  Oriental  Churches,  and,  as  has  been 
shown  by  Mr.  Palmer,  in  his  Antiquities  of  the 
English  Ritual,  are  undoubtedly  the  four  original 
forms  from  which  all  the  Liturgies  in  the  world 
have  been  taken.  "  They  resemble  one  another 
too  much  to  have  grown  up  independently,  and 
too  little  to  have  been  copied  from  one  another." 

80  Quoted  in  Lord  KING'S  Hist,  of  Apos.  Creed,  p.  214- 
215-216. 


EASTER   EVEN.  215 

One  point  of  correspondence  is,  that  eacli  of  them 
has  a  prayer  in  the  Communion  Service,  "  for  the 
peace  of  all  those  who  have  departed  this  life  in 
God's  faith  and  fear,"  concluding  with  a  petition 
for  communion  with  them.  A  portion  of  this 
prayer  was  in  these  words — "  We  commend  unto 
Thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  all  other  Thy  servants, 
which  are  departed  hence  from  us  with  the  sign 
of  faith,  and  now  do  rest  in  the  sleep  of  peace : 
grant  unto  them,  we  beseech  Thee,  Thy  mercy 
and  everlasting  peace ;  and  that  at  the  day  of  the 
general  resurrection,  we,  and  all  they  which  be 
of  the  mystical  body  of  Thy  Son,  may  altogether 
be  set  at  His  right  hand,  and  hear  that  His  most 
joyful  voice, '  Come  unto  me,  O  ye  that  be  blessed 
of  My  Father,  and  possess  the  kingdom  which 
is  prepared  for  you  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world.'  Grant  this,  O  Father,  for  Jesus  Christ's 
Bake,  our  only  Mediator  and  Advocate."  This 
prayer  was  retained  in  the  Liturgy  in  "  Edward 
VL's  1st  Book,"  but  altered  in  the  2d,  at  the 
instigations  of  Bucer  and  Calvin.  This  was  pro- 
bably done,  as  Mr.  Palmer  conjectures,  because 
these  prayers  were  so  connected  in  the  minds  of 
the  common  people  with  the  idea  of  purgatory, 


216  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

that  tlieir  continuance  would  have  involved  the 
risk  of  propagating  this  pernicious  error.  As 
remodeled,  the  prayer  in  our  service  now  stands 
thus — "  And  we  also  bless  Thy  holy  name  for  all 
Thy  servants  departed  this  life  in  Thy  faith  and 
fear,  beseeching  Thee  to  give  us  grace  to  follow 
their  good  examples,  that  with  them  we  may  be 
partakers  of  Thy  heavenly  kingdom. 

We  do  not  pretend  to  discuss  the  propriety  of 
these  prayers ;  we  only  mention  their  existence 
in  the  ancient  Liturgies,  as  furnishing  a  proof  of 
tlie  belief  of  the  Church  in  the  state  of  Paradise 
after  death.  u  This  custom  "  —  said  the  learned 
Bishop  Collier  —  "seems  to  have  gone  on  the 
principle  that  supreme  happiness  is  not  to  be 
expected  till  the  resurrection ;  and  that  the  inter- 
val between  death  and  the  end  of  the  world,  is  a 
state  of  imperfect  bliss.1'81 

Thus  it  is  then  that  the  Church  has  inherited 
this  truth,  and  so  she  has  retained  it.  Her  third 
Article  is  —  uAs  Christ  died  for  us,  and  was 
buried,  so  also  it  is  to  be  believed,  that  He  went 
down  into  Hell;"  while  in  her  creed  she  toadies 

81  Eccles.  Hist,  of  Great  Britain.,  Part  II.,  Book  IV., 
o  257. 


EASTER  EVKN.  217 

her  children  ever  to  confess  —  "  He  descended 
into  Hell ; "  inserting  in  the  margin  by  way  of 
explanation,  "  He  went  into  the  place  of  departed 
spirits."  In  the  same  way  she  recognizes  the 
doctrine  of  the  intermediate  state  in  all  her  public 
offices.  She  never  speaks  of  the  fullness  of  joy 
as  something  to  be  attained  by  the  Christian 
immediately  after  death,  but  looks  forward  to  it 
with  hope,  as  a  consummation  to  follow  the 
second  coming  of  our  Lord,  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  and  the  judgment  of  the  last  day. 
Thus  in  the  collect  for  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent, 
we  pray,  that  "  when  Christ  shall  come  again  in 
His  glorious  majesty  to  judge  both  the  quick  and 
dead,  we  may  rise  to  the  life  immortal." 

In  the  Burial  Service,  as  we  might  naturally 
expect,  we  find  a  plain  distinction  made  between 
the  rest  we  are  to  inherit  at  death,  and  that 
which  is  to  be  our  portion  at  the  last  day.  For 
instance,  in  one  of  the  concluding  prayers,  we 
entreat  the  Father,  "  that  when  we  shall  depart 
this  life,  we  may  rest  in  Him ;  and  that  at  the 
general  resurrection  in  the  last  day,  we  may  be 
found  acceptable  in  His  sight,  and  receive  that 
blessing  which  His  well  beloved  Sou  shall  then 


218  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

pronounce  to  those  who  love  and  fear  Him,  say- 
ing, Come,  ye  blessed  children  of  my  Father, 
receive  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world."  Here,  two  separate 
times  and  two  distinct  rewards  are  mentioned. 
In  the  same  way,  in  one  of  the  other  prayers, 
after  speaking  of  "  those  who  have  finished  their 
course  in  faith,"  as  "  now  resting  from  their 
labors,"  we  are  taught  to  look  forward  to  a  still 
higher  stage  of  felicity  to  which  they  may  reach, 
and  therefore  pray  — "  And  we  beseech  Thee, 
that  we,  with  all  those  who  are  departed  in  the 
true  faith  of  Thy  holy  name,  may  have  our  per- 
fect consummation  and  bliss,  both  in  body  and 
soul,  in  Thy  eternal  and  everlasting  glory."82 

Again  —  another  argument  in  support  of  this 
doctrine  is  derived  from  its  being  so  evidently  in 
accordance  witli  reason.  A  belief  indeed  in  the 
immediate  entrance  of  the  soul  into  its  full  reward 

32  This  prayer  in  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England 
is  even  more  explicit,  where  the  petition  is  offered  to  God, 
"  of  His  gracious  goodness  shortly  to  accomplish  the  mim- 
l>er  of  His  elect,  and  to  hasten  His  kingdom :  that  we,  witli 
all  those  that  are  departed  in  the  true  faith  of  His  holy 
name,  may  have  our  perfect  consummation  and  bliss  both 
in  body  and  soul." 


EASTER   EVEN.  219 

or  punishment  is  one  which  necessarily  leads  us 
into  inextricable  difficulties. 

Each  individual  passes  through  his  probation 
here,  a  compound  being,  the  earthly  and  the 
spiritual  united  by  a  chain,  the  links  of  which  we 
can  not  discover,  though  we  daily  and  hourly 
feel  the  influence  of  one  part  of  our  nature  upon 
the  other.  The  material  and  the  immaterial  sin 
and  suffer  together.  Tempting  and  being  tempt- 
ed, they  go  through  life — the  spirit  by  its  imag- 
inings urging  on  its  sluggish  partner  to  action, 
while  the  body  by  the  outward  sense  trammels 
down  the  soul,  to  become  "  of  the  earth,  earthly." 
Participating  in  the  same  acts,  and  deserving  of 
the  same  recompense,  should  they  not  be  united 
before  they  fully  enter  on  that  state  of  bliss  or 
woe  which  is  to  be  unchanged  through  eternity  ? 
Can  we  indeed  conceive  of  any  retribution  which 
will  fitly  reward  man  for  all  his  doings  here,  if  it 
does  not  act  upon  both  parts  of  his  nature  ?  Can 
he  fully  rejoice  or  suffer,  while  existing  as  a  purely 
spiritual  being,  in  this  state  of  separation  ?  Can 
we  believe  therefore  that  he  will  receive  his  final 
sentence  —  or  that  there  will  be  any  use  in  pro- 
nouncing it  —  until  he  stands  before  the  throne, 


220  THE  LENTEN  FAST 

the  same  lie  was  in  every  respect,  while  living  a 
probationer  here  ?  Why  then  should  he  enter 
into  his  final  state  before  that  hour  arrives  ? 

Again  —  supposing  that  he  does  pass  at  once 
into  Heaven  or  Hell,  judgment  in  that  case  must 
be  pronounced  upon  him  as  soon  as  his  spirit 
leaves  the  body.     Must  not  then  the  process  of 
finally  acquitting  or  condemning  the  disembodied 
souls  which  each  hour  are  winging  their  flight  to 
the  eternal  world,  be  ceaselessly  going  on  ?    This 
would  indeed  entirely  set  aside  the  general  judg- 
ment of  the  last  day,  unless  we  can  suppose  the 
absurdity,  that  now  the  spirit  is  judged,  but  then 
the   body  alone  will  stand  up  for  retribution. 
For  what  could  it  be  but  an  empty  show,  to 
recall  from  Heaven  the  countless  tribes  of  the 
just  after  they  have  been  glorified  there  for  ages, 
and  then  once  more  to  return  them  to  that  abode, 
with  the  sentence,  "  Enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your 
Lord  !  "     Bishop  Sherlock,  in  his  "  Practical  Dis- 
course concerning  a  Future  Judgment,"  sums  up 
this  argument  in  a  single  sentence  —  "And  the 
truth  is,  if  all  men  have  a  final  sentence  passed 
on  them  as  soon  as  they  go  into  the  other  world, 
it  is  very  unaccountable,  why  Christ  at  the  hist 


EASTER   EVEN.  221 

day  shall  come  with  such  a  terrible  pomp  and 
solemnity  to  judge  and  condemn  those,  who  are 
judged,  and  condemned,  and  executed  already 
as  much  as  they  can  ever  be."  But  the  plain 
teaching  of  Scripture  is,  that  there  should  be  a 
day  at  the  end  of  the  world,  when  not  only  the 
unnumbered  multitudes  of  the  human  race,  but 
also  the  apostate  angels  who  are  u  reserved  in 
chains  "  against  that  solemn  hour,  shall  together 
receive  the  sentence  which  all  eternity  can  not 
reverse.  Our  Lord  is  now  represented,  standing 
as  Mediator  before  the  throne  of  His  Father, 
and  not  until  the  mighty  drama  of  this  world  is 
entirely  concluded,  will  He  ascend  the  tribunal 
of  judgment. 

Neither,  on  the  other  hand,  can  it  be  argued, 
that  this  admission  to  a  state  of  rest  merely  and 
imperfect  bliss,  would  in  any  way  forestall  the 
judgment  of  the  last  day,  or  that  the  solemnities 
of  Christ's  tribunal  would  be  rendered  vain  by 
that  previous  knowledge  of  our  destiny,  which 
must  be  gained  from  our  intermediate  state. 
"  The  condition  of  one  who  dies  in  his  sins,  and 
awakes  to  a  sense  of  the  retribution  that  awaits 
him,  may,  not  inaptly,  be  compared  to  that  of  a 


222  THE  LENTEN  FAST. 

criminal  who  is  committed  to  a  gaol  for  trial, 
without  the  slightest  hope  of  escaping  conviction. 
It  could  hardly  be  said  of  such  a  person,  that  his 
fear  and  anguish  there  would  forestall  the  solem- 
nities of  justice,  and  render  nugatory  the  subse- 
quent administration  and  execution  of  the  law. 
The  forms  and  proceedings  of  earthly  justice  do 
not  indeed,  provide  a  precisely  similar  illustration 
to  the  case  of  those  who  have  persevered  in  well 
doing ;  but  nevertheless,  we  are  unable  to  com- 
prehend, why  the  analogy  should  not  likewise  be 
extended  to  them.  What  is  there  unreasonable 
in  the  surmise,  that  a  righteous  man  may  awaken 
from  death  to  that  full  assurance  of  acquittal  and 
acceptance  which  some  have  affirmed  to  be  at- 
tainable even  in  the  present  life  ?  Why  may  he 
not  be  placed  in  a  state  of  which  the  enjoyment 
shall  consist  in  the  knowledge  that  his  trials  and 
agitations  are  at  an  end,  that  the  forgiveness  of 
his  sins  is  finally  sealed,  and  that  a  reward  will 
at  some  period  be  assigned  him,  proportioned  to 
his  faithfulness,  by  the  infallible  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  his  Judge  f'88 

How  natural  then  seems  the  order  of  events, 

88  British  Critic,  No.  17. 


EASTER  EVEN".  223 

when  we  adopt  the  belief  of  an  intermediate 
state !  New  light  is  thus  ponrecl  upon  many  a 
passage  of  Scripture,  while  every  difficulty  which 
was  suggested  by  the  reason,  at  once  passes  away. 
There  we  behold  the  departed,  resting  in  their 
separate  mansions,  through  all  the  ages  which 
intervene  between  the  hour  of  death  and  the 
final  consummation  of  all  things.  In  peace  the 
just  repose;  for  the  cares  and  sorrows  of  this 
lower  world  have  passed  away  for  ever,  and  in 
the  full  assurance  of  hope  they  look  forward  to 
that  hour,  when  their  "  Lord  shall  be  revealed 
from  Heaven,"  and  they  be  admitted  to  the  full- 
ness of  joy,  in  the  "  place  which  he  hath  prepared 
for  them."  There  also,  yet  separated  by  "  a  gulf 
which  they  can  not  pass,"34  are  the  wicked. 
The  record  of  a  wasted  life  is  ever  before  them, 
for  already  conscience  has  commenced  her  work, 
and  they  feel  the  gnawings  of  that  worm  which 
dieth  not  for  ever.  In  trembling  and  fear  there- 
fore, they  await  the  revolution  of  that  cycle  of 
ages,  and  the  coming  of  that  day  of  decision, 
when  they  shall  be  forced  to  descend  to  a  deeper, 
more  awful  state  of  torment.  Thus  it  is,  that  the 
84  iMke,  xvi.,  26. 


224  THE   LENTEN   X'AST. 

general  judgment  becomes,  as  Scripture  repre 
sents  it,  the  winding  up  of  this  world's  history 
There,  the  descendants  of  Adam,  of  "  every  kin- 
dred, and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation,"  meet 
for  the  last  time  —  they  are  "judged  for  their 
works" — the  final  separation  is  made — and  they 
pass  away,  to  begin  their  endless  retribution.85 
A  single  question  more  remains  to  be  answered. 

85  It  will  be  at  once  perceived,  that  this  doctrine  is 
widely  different  from  the  belief  of  the  Romanists  in  Pur- 
gatory. Their  doctrine  is,  (as  given  in  their  own  words) 
— "  Some  there  are,  though  I  fear  but  few,  that  have 
before  their  death  so  fully  cleared  all  accounts  with  the 
Divine  Majesty,  and  washed  away  all  their  stains  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb,  as  to  go  straight  to  Heaven  after 
death;  and  such  as  those  stand  not  in  need  of  our  prayers. 
Others  there  are,  and  their  numbers  are  very  great,  who 
die  in  the  guilt  of  deadly  sin,  and  such  as  these  go  straight 
to  Hell,  like  the  rich  glutton  in  the  Gospel,  St.  Luke,  xvi., 
and  therefore  cannot  be  bettered  by  our  prayers.  But 
besides  these  two  kinds,  there  are  many  Christians,  who, 
when  they  die,  are  neither  so  perfectly  pure  and  clean,  as 
to  exempt  them  from  the  least  spot  or  stain,  nor  yet  so 
unhappy  as  to  die  under  the  guilt  of  unrepented  deadly 
sin.  Now  such  as  these  the  Church  believes  to  be,  for  a 
time,  in  a  middle  state,  which  AVC  call  Purgatory;  and 
these  are  they  who  are  capable  of  receiving  benefit  by  our 
prayers." — The  Catholic  Christian  Instructed.  Jty  tJ>e 
Most  llei\  Dr.  CHALLONER. 


EASTER  EVEN.  225 

It  is  the  inquiry,  What  was  the  object  of  our  Lord's 
descent  into  the  place  of  departed  Spirits? 

One  end  answered  by  it  was,  that  in  this  respect 
also  He  conformed  Himself  to  the  lot  of  those  whose 
nature  He  had  assumed.  When  He  left  "  the 
glory  which  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the 
world  was,"  it  seems  to  have  been  His  purpose 
to  become  "  like  unto  us  in  all  things,  sin  only  ex- 
cepted."  He  passed  through  every  trial  to  which 
frail  humanity  is  subjected.  His  were  the  feeble- 
ness and  pains  of  wailing  infancy — the  cares  which 
gather  around  the  years  of  manhood — the  shrink- 
ing of  nature  at  the  sight  of  death — and  the  last 
convulsive  struggle  which  bursts  the  prison-house 
of  clay.  And  even  when  He  entered  the  gates 
of  the  grave,  He  continued  to  tread  the  same 
path  in  which  each  one  of  us — His  brethren  after 
the  flesh  —  must  one  day  walk.  His  body  was 
committed  to  the  tomb,  after  a  time  to  be  awak- 
ened again  as  an  incorruptible  and  spiritual  body, 
freed  from  all  human  infirmities,  and  then  to  pass 
into  the  Heavens.  And  for  the  same  reason  must 
His  soul  also  abide  in  the  resting  place  of  those 
He  came  to  redeem,  until  the  hour  in  which  it 
was  to  be  once  more  united  with  His  body.  Thus 


00(J  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

it  was,  tnat  the  humiliation  of  the  Son  of  God  was 
not  confined  to  this  world.  It  did  not  end  with 
the  agonies  of  the  Crucifixion.  It  continued  even 
after  he  had  passed  the  veil  which  separates  the 
living  from  the  dead.  As  a  disembodied  spirit, 
He  found  that  He  must  still  acknowledge  brother- 
hood with  mortals  from  the  earth. 

Again  • —  our  Lord  thus- proved  to  us  tlie  cer- 
tainty of  our  victory  over  Hades.  We  point  to 
the  resurrection,  and  say,  "  Thus  it  is  that  we 
know  we  also  shall  triumph  over  the  grave.  He 
hath  burst  the  band  of  death  asunder,  and  with 
the  like  power  shall  ''His  people  also  be  gifted." 
Tl» is  it  is,  which  sheds  a  glory  around  the  tomb, 
and  lights  up  its  gloomy  caverns  with  a  celestial 
radiance. 

But  would  not  the  work  have  been  incomplete, 
if  no  pledge  had  been  given  us  of  the  Spirit's 
victory  in  the  invisible  world — if  our  Master  had 
neglected  to  point  out  the  path  it  also  was  to 
tread,  in  the  interval  between  "  death  and  the  re- 
surrection ? "  But  "  He  hath  done  all  things  well.71 
Nothing  was  left  unaccomplished.  His  grace  AVMS 
displayed  even  in  the  mansions  of  the  departed, 
and  to  us  therefore  they  are  divested  of  all  ter- 


EASTER   EVEN.  227 

ror.  "  His  soul  was  not  left  in  Hades,"  neither 
shall  His  children  be  forever  detained  there.  He 
now  "  has  the  keys  of  Hell  (Hades)  and  of  Death," 
and  shall  release  them  when  the  appointed  hour 
comes,  that  they  too  may  ascend  as  He  did,  to 
the  "  fullness  of  joy." 

And  may  we  not  add  also,  that  another  object 
of  His  descent  was,  that  He  might  there  proclaim 
the  news  of  His  redemption  to  the  spirits  which 
were  in  safe  keeping  ?  We  have  already  alluded 
to  this,  when  discussing  that  difficult  passage  in 
St.  Peter,  and  stated  what  must  have  been  the 
mariner  of  His  preaching.  There,  the  righteous 
had  rested  for  ages,  in  anticipation  of  that  future 
atonement  which  was  to  be  wrought  out  by  the 
Son  of  God.  Is  there  any  thing  strange  then  in 
the  idea,  that  when  that  ransom  had  been  paid, 
which  secured  their  salvation,  and  the  power  of 
their  great  Enemy  was  forever  broken,  He  should 
descend  and  unfold  these  glorious  tidings  to  the 
countless  myriads  of  the  redeemed  ?  While  on 
earth,  they  had  looked  forward  with  the  anticipa- 
tion of  hope,  and  "  rejoiced  to  see  that  day " 
even  through  the  mist  of  intervening  centuries ; 


228  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

but  now,  these  visions  were  realized  and  the 
Messiah  Himself  proclaims,  that  "  it  is  finished." 
"The  passage  in  St.  Peter,  which  speaks  of 
Christ  as  having  'preached  to  the  spirits,'  gives, 
\ve  think"  —says  an  eloquent  living  writer - 
"  something  of  foundation  to  the  opinion,  that 
whilst  His  body  was  in  in  the  sepulchre,  Christ 
preached  to  spirits  in  the  separate  state,  opening 
up  to  them,  probably,  those  mysteries  of  redemp- 
tion into  which  even  angels,  before-time,  had 
vainly  striven  to  look.  The  kings,  and  the  pro- 
phets, and  the  righteous  men,  who  had  desired 
to  see  the  things  which  appostles  saw,  and  had 
not  seen  them,  and  hear  the  things  which  they 
heard,  and  had  not  heard  them — unto  these,  it 
may  be,  Christ  brought  a  glorious  roll  of  intelli- 
gence;  and  we  can  imagine  Him  standing  in  tlu; 
midst  of  a  multitude  which  no  man  can  number, 
who  had  all  gone  down  to  the  chambers  of  death 
with  but  indistinct  and  far-off  glimpses  of  the 
promised  Messiah,  and  explained  to  the  eaovr 
assembly  the  beauty,  and  the  stability  of  that 
deliverance  which  He  had  just  wrought  out 
through  obedience  and  blood-shedding.  And,  oh, 
there  must  then  have  gone  forth  a  tide  of  the 


EASTER  EVEN.  229 

very  loftiest  gladness  through  the  listening  crowds 
of  the  separate  state ;  and  then,  perhaps,  for  the 
first  time,  admiration  and'  extacy  summoning  out 
the  music,  was  heard  that  anthem,  whose  rich 
peal  rolls  down  the  coming  eternity,  'Worthy, 
worthy,  worthy  is  the  Lamb.'  Then,  it  may  be, 
for  the  first  time,  did  Adam  embrace  all  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  promise,  that  i  the  seed  of  the 
woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head ;'  and 
Abraham  understand  how  the  well-being  of  the 
human  population  depended  on  one  that  should 
spring  from  his  own  loins ;  and  David  ascertain 
all  the  meaning  of  mysterious  strains,  which,  as 
prefiguring  Messiah,  he  had  swept  from  the  harp- 
strings.  Then  too,  the  long  train  of  Aaron's 
line,  who  had  stood  at  the  altar,  and  slain  the 
victims,  and  burnt  the  incense,  almost  weighed 
down  by  a  ritual,  the  import  of  whose  ceremo- 
nies was  but  indistinctly  made  known — then,  it 
may  be,  they  were  suddenly  and  sublimely  taught 
the  power  of  every  figure,  and  the  expression  of 
every  rite  ;  whilst  the  noble  company  of  prophets, 
holy  men  who  c  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,'  but  who,  rapt  into  the  future,  uttered 
much  which  only  the  future  could  develop — these, 


230  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

as  though  starting  from  the  sleep  of  ages,  sprang 
into  the  centre  of  that  gorgeous  panorama  of 
truth  which  they  had  been  commissioned  to  out- 
line, but  over  whose  spreadings  there  had  rested 
the  cloud  and  the  mist ;  and  Isaiah  thrilled  at 
the  glories  of  his  own  saying,  c  unto  us  a  child  is 
born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given ;'  and  Hosea  grasped 
all  the  mightiness  of  the  declaration,  which  he 
had  poured  forth  whilst  denouncing  the  aposta- 
cies  of  Samaria,  l  O  Death,  I  will  be  thy  plagues ; 
O  Grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction.' 

"  We  know  not  why  it  may  not  thus  be  consid- 
ered that  the  day  of  Christ's  entrance  into  the 
separate  state  was,  like  the  Pentecostal  day  to 
the  Church  upon  earth,  a  day  of  the  rolling  off 
of  obscurity  from  the  plan  of  redemption,  and 
of  showing  how  '  glory,  honor  and  immortality,' 
were  made  accessible  to  the  remotest  of  the  world's 
families ;  a  day  on  which  a  thousand  types  gave 
place  to  realities  and  a  thousand  predictions  leaped 
into  fulfillment ;  a  day  therefore,  on  which  there 
circulated  through  the  enormous  gatherings  of 
Adam  and  his  elect  posterity,  already  ushered 
into  rest,  a  gladness  which  had  never  yet  been 
reached  in  all  the  depth  of  their  beatifical  repose. 


EASTER   EVEN.  231 

And  neither,  then,  can  we  discover  cause  why 
Christ  may  not  be  thought  to  have  filled  the  office 
of  preacher  to  the  buried  tribes  of  the  righteous, 
and  thus  to  have  assumed  that  character  which 
he  has  never  since  laid  aside,  that  of  c  a  minister 
of  the  sanctuary,  and  of  the  true  tabernacle  which 
the  Lord  pitched,  and  not  man.'"86 

This  then  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Intermediate 
state.  Comfortable  indeed  to  man  in  his  feeble- 
ness is  the  thought,  that  even  in  this  respect  his 
Lord  hath  prepared  the  way  for  him  !  The  path 
which  connects  this  world  of  toil  and  sorrow 
with  one  of  songs  and  gladness,  has  been  clearly 
pointed  out.  It  is  still  radiant  with  his  Master's 
footsteps,  and  His  followers  may  tread  it  with- 
out fear.  And  if,  when  all  things  are  bright 
before  him,  he  realizes  this  but  feebly,  yet  to  him 
also  there  must  come  "  a  time  to  suffer  and  be 
silent,"  when  spiritual  promises  alone  will  be 
able  to  satisfy  the  intense  longings  of  his  soul. 
As  man  journeys  onward  through  an  evil  world, 
the  glory  of  this  lower  life  fades  away  —  its  hues 
of  beauty  disappear  —  and  are  lost  at  last  as  the 
clouds  gather  around  his  setting  sun.  Beautifully 

86  MELVILL'S  Sermons ,  vol.  i.,  p.  49. 


232  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

indeed  does  one  of  England's  Christian  poets 
portray  this  change  which  passes  over  all  tilings, 
thus  weaning  the  Spirit  away  from  this  earth, 
and  disposing  it  to  look  to  Heaven. 

"  Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy! 
Shades  of  the  prison-house  begin  to  close 

Upon  the  growing  Boy, 
But  he  beholds  the  light,  and  whence  it  flows, 

He  sees  it  in  his  joy; 
The  Youth,  who  daily  farther  from  the  east 

Must  travel  still,  is  Nature's  Priest, 

And  by  the  vision  splendid 

Is  on  his  way  attended ; 
At  length  the  man  perceives  it  die  away, 
And  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day."37 

Such  is  truly  the  sorrowful  process  of  man's 
life.  One  by  one  the  objects  in  which  he  Ln<l 
garnered  up  his  affections  pass  away,  until  often 
in  the  gray  twilight  of  his  days  he  is  left  alone 
and  desolate.  Then  indeed  if  he  look  around 
for  sympathy,  from  the  busy,  earnest  world  about 
him  there  comes  forth  no  response.  Orestes-like 
he  seeks  for  peace  with  a  deeper  yearning  than 
that  suppliant  in  the  ancient  Grecian  Drama,88 

87  WORDSWORTH'S    Ode — "Intimations  of  Immortality 
from  Recollections  of  Early  Childhood." 

88  JEsciiYL.  Eumen. 


EASTER  EVEN.  233 

yet  he  seeks  in  vain.  The  flowers  of  his  earthly 
Paradise  are  faded,  and  its  cisterns  broken. 
Memory  lifts  up  her  voice  within  him,  like  the 
archangel's  trump,  summoning  from  their  forgot- 
ten graves,  thoughts  and  scenes  which  long  since 
had  passed  away.  Their  images  rise  up  mourn- 
fully, as  it  were  to  mock  him,  for  he  knows  that 
the  reality  can  never  return.  For  him  is  reserved 
only  the  lonely  night,  which  stealing  insensibly 
on,  is  ever  deepening  its  shadows  about  his  path. 
When  therefore  this  world  thus  vanishes  away 
and  life  by  its  own  vicissitudes  has  taught  him 
the  lesson  of  his  vanity — when  nothing  but  evils 
seem  to  "  choke  Time's  groaning  tide "  —  how 
cheering  is  the  thought,  that  the  future  yet  re- 
mains to  be  his  certain  heritage !  He  raises  his 
eyes  above  the  gathering  darkness  and  the  clouds 
which  surround  him,  and  beholds  beyond  them, 
that  land  which  is  always  radiant  with  a  celestial 
glory.  The  past,  with  its  sorrowful  memories, 
is  forgotten,  and  he  lives  only  in  the  anticipations 
of  the  future.  He  is  not  driven  forward  to  the 
coming  world  without  "  knowing  the  things  that 
shall  befall  him  there."  He  is  sustained  by  the 
M  hope  which  maketh  not  ashamed."  And  thus 


234  THE   LENTEN  FAST. 

he  passes  along  through  the  remaining  days  of 
his  pilgrimage,  sharing  in  that  spirit  which  the 
old  artists  attempted  to  embody  in  their  delinea- 
tions of  Faith  when  they  represented  her  tread- 
ing a  rugged  and  thorny  road,  yet  clasping  the 
Cross  to  her  heart,  and  her  eyes  intently  fixed 
upon  the  calm,  clear  Heavens  above.  He  feels 
that  Death  shall  only  come  like  the  Angel  to 
the  Apostles,  bursting  the  bars  of  his  prison- 
house,  and  leading  him  forth  to  the  light  and  to 
the  day.  His  spirit  pines  within  him  for  the 
sweet  waters  of  the  River  of  Life.  The  voices 
of  the  dead  too,  who  have  gone  before,  come 
solemnly  to  his  ears,  as  they  urge  him  to  press 
onward  to  the  promised  land.  There,  his  wan- 
derings shall  end,  and  the  pilgrim  staff  be  forever 
cast  aside.  There  he  shall  be  at  peace  in  the 
mansions  of  rest,  with  the  mighty  army  of  patri- 
archs and  apostles,  and  confessors  and  martyrs, 
who  have  already  slept  in  the  faith.  Cheered 
by  a  brighter  manifestation  of  his  Master's  pre- 
sence than  can  be  his  lot  in  this  world,  he  shall 
await  his  full  reward,  and  the  crown  which  shall 
be  given  him  at  the  last  day.  With  what  un- 


EASTER   EVEN.  235 

wavering  confidence  may  he  then  look  up  and 

say  — 

t:  Soon  wilt  Thou  take  us  to  Thy  tranquil  bower 

To  rest  one  little  hour, 
Till  Thine  elect  are  number'd,  and  the  grave 

Call  Thee  to  come  and  save : 
Then  on  thy  bosom  borne  shall  we  descend, 

Again  with  earth  to  blend, 
Earth  all  refin'd  with  bright  supernal  fires, 
Tinctur'd  with  holy  blood,  and  wing'd  with  pure  desires. 

Meanwhile,  with  every  son  and  saint  of  Thine 

Along  the  glorious  line, 
Sitting  by  turns  beneath  Thv  sacred  feet 

We  '11  hold  communion  sweet, 
Know  them  by  look  and  voice,  and  thank  them  all 

For  helping  us  in  thrall, 

For  words  of  hope,  and  bright  examples  given 
To  show  through  moonless  skies  that  there  is  light  in 
Heaven."89 

Thus  ages  shall  glide  by,  until  the  history  of 
this  world  is  completed,  and  the  number  of  the 
elect  made  up.  Then  our  long  expected  Lord 
shall  descend  with  a  shout — the  dust  of  each  one 
of  the  saints  be  collected  from  the  four  winds, 
united  again  to  its  former  partner,  as  the  spirit 
comes  forth  from  its  resting-place,  and  all  shall 

89  KEBLE'S  Easter  Eve. 


236  THE   LENTEN   FAST. 

gather  around  the  throne  of  Him  whom  they 
followed  while  on  earth,  ready  to  receive  the  sen- 
tence —  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servants, 
enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord."  This  shall 
be  the  GREAT  EASTEK  OF  THE  EARTH. 


THE   END. 


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